www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I regularly visit a small wetland area (about half an acre or just a little over) at the edge of a field that has always been kept as a wildlife area. There is couple of quite wet areas that have watercress and cuckooflower in them and frogs often and I have found ringed and brown china-mark moths there before as well as pippestrelle bats. There is not a lot of wildplants in the area but lots of grass as well as: great willowherb, hemp nettle, nettles, field bindweed, watercress, cuckooflower, dock, sorrel, birds-foot trefoil and sedges and bramble with a hawthorn hedge beside mixed woodland which is mostly conifer plantation with oak, alder and beech. What I would like to do as I am allowed, is sow a few more wildflower seeds in the area to attract more wildlife.

I have a few native seeds from a few species already that I would like to sow: marsh ragwort, bell heather, water avens, Devil's bit Scabious, ox-eye daisy and eyebright but does anyone know any others that might be good for an area that is usually quite muddy and wet?

Hi Dave,

Probably best to have a chat with your local botanists - there are all different types of wetland habitat and it would probably be best to plant out the species that would do best on the particular site that you have.

Hi,

Thanks, probably the best plan. I'll ask my local plant recorder and see what he says. I'll post an update on how it goes.

fleabane, hemp agrimony, meadow sweet maybe even purple loosestrife

Chris