Cowslip - Primula veris

The Cowslip is a well known and popular wild flower whose numbers have declined dramatically.  The Cowslip grows to a height of 20-30 cm when in full flower, with leaves that go up to 10-15cm.  It produces delicate yellow flowers 1-2cm, usually between March and May. 

Its preferred habitat is open grassland either slighly alkali or neutral in nature.  It also requires a generous amount of light in order to flower and is not successful in woodlands or under tall plants. 

Cowslips are found both in dry and in continuously moist conditions and in short grasslands.  The cowslip is a must for almost all non-acidic open grassland sites.  The plant forms a key component of spring flowering grasslands and can be used to create cowslip meadows in ordinary turf grass.  It can also be planted at the front of herbaceous borders.

The cowslips are allowed to flower and cutting can start either at the end of flowering in May or after seed set in June.  Thereafter the lawn can be kept short.  

They provide a valuable food source for bees and are the larval host plant for the Duke of Burgandy butterfly, as well as an important nectar source.

Campion, Red - Silene dioica

The Red Campion is an attractive perennial plant with arrow shaped leaves and narrow stems, producing a number of reddish pink flowers between April and July. 

It is an ideal species for planting in semi-shade, in front of hedgerows and on north facing banks.  The plant can also be established successfully in woods by seeding, given sufficient shade to provide significant areas of bare earth for plant establishment.  In open sites Red Campion appears to prefer calcareous soils. 

Red Campion is an important nectar source for butterflies.

Campion, White - Silene alba

The White Campion is an attractive perennial with sticky hairy stems and white flowers which are either male or female.  It is found mostly on dry, neutral or alkali grasslands. 

It can look particularly effective in clumps where the white of the flowers stands out. 

The White Campion is an important nectar source and very attractive to moths

 Cranesbill, Bloody - Geranium sanguineum

The bloody crane's-bill has bright crimson flowers the size of a fifty pence piece, its leaves are lobed and each lobe is subdivided into three sublobes and it has red stalk joints which are referred to in its name.

It has a localised distribution on grassland, rocky places, sand-dunes and open woods on calcareous soils in northern and western areas. Bloody crane's-bill can be seen in flower between July and August, followed by blood red foliage which gives the plant its name. 

Field Scabious - Knautia arvensis

The Field Scabious produces large pale lilac/mauve flowers on the end of a tall stem between July and September.  It can be found in neutral and alkaline soils in sands and clays as well as limestone. 

The Field Scabious has a valuable role as a tall, attractive summer flower of banks, roadside verges and meadows.  Its size enables Field Scabious to sustain itself in tall quite fertile grasslands.  It can persist in unmanaged grasslands but more usually requires an autumn and possibly an additional spring cut.

The flowers are an extremely important nectar source for both butterflies and bees.  It is the preferred nectar source for Small Skipper, Essex Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.

Greater Knapweed - Centaurea scabiosa

Greater Knapweed produces very attractive large purple flowers in mid-summer.  It prefers open grasslands and particularly calcareous soils and can live in drought conditions.  It can cope with quite fertile soil and need only be cut in the autumn. 

Greater Knapweed is attractive to bees and butterflies and is the preferred nectar source for a number of butterflies including Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Brimstone, Chalkhill Blue, Painted Lady, Peacock, Silver-Washed Fritillary, Grayling, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

Ox-eye Daisy - Chrysanthemum leucanthemum

The Oxeye Daisy is a tall, very common species, and is an extremely popular species of wild flower landscaping schemes. The flower head produced on the end of each stem is very akin to a common lawn daisy except around 5 or 10 times bigger.

The plant needs full sunlight and grows mainly in calcareous or neutral grasslands, while occasionally appearing in some heaths. The plant is very common on disturbed soils or banks, especially quarries and wastelands, in meadows and abandoned pastures. Ox-eye Daisy is found in soils of low to moderate fertility. 

Saint John's Wort - Hypericum perforatum

The bright golden flowers of perforate St John's-wort are star-shaped, with a prominent pincushion of stamens. This rhizomatous perennial has woody, ridged stems and oval leaves carried in opposite pairs. The leaves have translucent glands which give a perforated appearance. In its natural habitat the plant can be found in hedgebanks, verges and waste places, especially on limy soils.

'Wort', the suffix found after so many common plant names, is simply the old name for a herb, a plant or even a root. The stems of members of this family exude a red juice when broken.

This plant is a rich source of nectar and pollen. Several leaf beetles Chrysolina sp and a couple of pot beetles Cryptocephalus sp. are specific to members of the Hypericum family.  

Scottish Bluebell (Harebell) - Campanula rotunndifolia

Harebells have extremely attractive, delicate blue flowers and are typically found on low, infertile and mostly alkaline grassland. 

They thrive in dry, sunny, infertile sites where the area is cut at least once a year.  They are an important nectar source for butterflies.

Toadflax - Linaria vulgaris

Common toadflax is a spreading plant that forms patches of bright yellow spires throughout the summer in rough grassland, road verges, hedgebanks and disturbed ground. It has narrow grey-green leaves arranged in whorls alternating up the stem. The stems terminate in dense clusters of yellow spurred flowers similar in appearance to snapdragons. Common toadflax grows well on loose, well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. It can be grown in a lawn, meadow or flower border. Care should be taken when planting into a cultivated border as it can become quite invasive.

Another name for this species is 'butter and eggs'.

Wild Marjoram - Origanum vulgare

Wild Marjoram is a bushy perennial plant with aromatic leaves and purplish stems.  It is covered in dense clusters of pinky red flowers which attract many butterflies and bees.

It is found alongside hedges, on banks and in rough grassland, usually on calcareous soil.  Also an important plant of any herb garden. 

Yarrow - Achillea millefolium

Yarrow has finely divided leaves that grow from the main stem, at the top of which is a flat cluster of creamy white or pink flowers. 

Yarrow does well in most grassland situations except very wet or shaded sites.  It is very tolerant of cutting and can be included in flowering lawns.  Cutting can take place in the spring or autumn.