Help put a little more colour into our lives and create great places for all kinds of creatures (insects, birds and mammals).

If you've got little to no space:

• Sow a pot with wildflowers 

If you've got more space:

• Take part in Plantlife’s ‘No Mow May’. Let your lawn or greenspace grow long for the month of May.  During that time, you’ll be able to see the wildflowers in among the grass. If there aren’t many you can decide what to do next. This could include: 
• Sowing patches with a wildflower mix 
• Sowing patches of yellow rattle (also known as the meadow maker) 
• Sow bare earth with a wildflower mix. When choosing your wildflower mix there are a few things to think about (see annuals and perennials below).

There are two types of meadow flowers:   

Annuals: These grow and flower in one year, e.g., Field poppy, Cornflower, Corn Marigold and Corncockle. They are often bright coloured and need to be sown every year or the for the soil, where they’ve grown, to be disturbed. 

Perennials: These are long-lasting plants, not as showy as the annuals, but will keep flowering for many years. 

Different types of flowers are suited to different soil types and situations – sunny, shady, damp or dry (free-draining). 

Different plants flower at different times of the year. You may choose spring flowers or summer flowers – those traditionally grown for hay meadows. 

All meadows need to be cut every year, and the grass/flowers raked off. Over time this makes the soil poorer (fewer nutrients). Meadow flowers grow better on these soils. Grasses will smother them if the soil is nutrient rich. 

We’ve lost 97% of UK wildflower meadows since the 1930’s so the more Lanarkshire wildflowers the better!

When choosing plants Scottish wildflowers are the best but lots of garden plants and shrubs are good too! For the best results the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) advises you to: 

• Grow a range of plants for year-round flowering. Research tells us that the plants that make the biggest difference are those that flower during the winter and early spring. 
• Avoid plants with double or multi-petalled flowers 
• Never use pesticides on plants in flower  

You could also plant butterfly and moth caterpillar food plants. They might not always be as pretty, but they will help these insects to thrive! 

Adding water to your garden or greenspace is a great way to attract wildlife, whatever size of garden or greenspace you have. If you’re short on space, make a mini pond or drainpipe garden. If you’re not, dig a bigger pond. Bog or raingardens work well in a wetter place. 

Everyone needs a bit of peace and quiet once in a while and wildlife is no different.

Create these undisturbed places: 

• Log piles – as the old logs rot, they are eaten by all sorts of minibeasts. These minibeasts are food for bigger beasties like hedgehogs, frogs, newts and toads and birds. 
• Nettle patch – nettles are the caterpillar food for red admiral, small tortoiseshell, painted lady and comma butterflies. Cut them down regularly to get good fresh growth. June is best but check first to see if there any caterpillars. 
• Scrub – if you have the space let hawthorn and blackthorn bushes get scrubby. Their berries are a good food source for winter birds. 
• Dead hedges – instead of a living hedge, stack up and stake in dead tree branches. Like a log pile they’ll be home to all sorts of creatures. They have the added advantages of acting as a wind break and as a place to stack garden waste. Keep adding more materials. 
• Turn off outside lights (or get a timer). It helps to cut down on light pollution which confuses moths and birds!  

Now, sit back and watch the wildlife!