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Wildflowers S - Y

Sainfoin (onobrychis vicifolia) 
   
P.  Pinnate, divided leaves and stems topped with a rpofusion of arrow-headed racemes of dark pink flowers with red stripes.    Very attractive to honeybees.  Plant in sun.  Particularly likes lime soil.
Salsify (tragopogon porrifolius) 
   
P.  H.  Ht 3 ft (90 cm).  Long thin leaves and mauve-pink flowers.  Meadow plant.  Found by roadsides and canal banks.  Food plant of Marbled Fritillary butterfly. 
Scarlet Pimpernel (anagallis arvensis) 
   
A.  Creeping wildflower with pretty orange-red flowers.  Used to be used to forecast the weather - if the air is moist with rain it won't open its flowers.  Looks good trailing down walls, in hanging baskets or cracks in the patio.  Plant has been used for treating stings and was thought by the ancients to be able to cure madness. 
Sea Samphire (crithrum maritimum) 
   

P.  H.  Also known as Sea Fennel and Rock Samphire.  Succulent gbright green leaves which have a salty taste.  White or greenish-yellow flowers from June to August.  Found on shingle beaches, in rock crevices and rocky shores.

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Self-heal (prunella vulgaris) 
   
P.  H.  Meadow plant.  Thick stems of purple flowers.  Bee plant.  Can be invasive as it spreads and self-seeds well, but it does look pretty in grass!  Grow as ground cover to fill in gaps in borders.  Flowers May to September.  Ht 1 - 2 ft (30 - 60 cm).
Soapwort (saponaria officinalis) 
   
HP.  H.  Also known as Bouncing Bett.  Actually used for producing a soapy lather and is still used in the washing of delicate fabrics today.  Found beside streams and in damp woods.  Makes a good edging plant as it flops gracefully and could be used to sften the edges of paths or lawns.
Spiked Speedwell (veronica spicata) 
   
P.  Ht 1 - 2 ft (30 - 60 cm). Green leaves and spikes of blue-mauve flowers from June to August.  Rare in the wild.  Bee plant.  Makes a good cut flower.  Bee plant.
Vervain (verbena officinalis) 
   

HP.  H.  Flowers July to October.  Very bushy, clump-forming plant with tall then stems with masses of tiny lilac-white flowers.  Butterfly plant. 

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Viper's Bugloss (echium vulgare) 
   

HP.  Gorgeous blue flowers with red anthers.    Ht 2 ft (60 cm) or so. Particular favourite of the Painted Lady butterfly, and bees, hoverflies and moths.  Flowers June to September.  Good plant for coastal/shingle areas.

(Only  1 x 9 cm pots left)
Weasel's Snout (misopates orontium) 
   

A.  Slightly hairy.  Also known aas Lesser Snapdragon.  Pink Snapdragon-like flowers with purple markings.   Flowers June to October.  Found in the wild in wasteland and by roadsides.  Ht to 50 cm.

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Weld (reseda luteola) 
   

B.  H.  Rosette of leaves in first year from which arises a tall spire of  greeny yellow flowers in the second year.  ht about 5 ft.  Flowers June to August.  Romans used the flowers to dye the tunics of vestal virgins!

(Only 2 x 9 cm pots left)

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White Campion (silene latifolia alba) 
   

P.  Found in open wasteground, hedgerows and meadows.  Large white flowers, scented in evenmings.  Ht 3 ft (90 cm).  Food plant of the Marbled Coronet, Marbled Clover, and Sandy Carpet moths. 

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White Clover (trifolium repens) 
   

P.  Creeping wildflower and herb with ball-shaped clusters of white flowers.  Host plant for caterpillars of the Cloudy Wing Skipper and Orange and Clouded Sulphur moths.  Nectar source for Viceroys and Silver Blues.  Bees also like it. 

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White Horehound (marrubium vulgare) 
   

HP.  H.  CG.  Found in wastelands and fields.  Flourishes best in dry soil.  Square stems and wrinkled, downy, grey-green leaves and whorls of white flowers from June to September.  Ht 2 ft (60 cm).  Makes a good fly repellent.

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Wild Basil (clinopodium vulgare) 
   

P.  Strewing herb.  Pretty pinky-mauve flowers from July to September.  Hedgerow and woodland margins plant, so likes  shade.  Ht 32 ins (80 cm).  Nectar-rich so good for bees, butterflies and moths. 

(Only 1 x 9 cm pots left)

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Wild Clary (salvia horminoides) 
   

P.  Wrinkled, toothed leaves anmd small blue-violet flowers.  Ht 1 - 3 ft (30 - 90 cm).  Ofted found in shady hedgerows and by streams.  Flowers May to September.  Food plant of the Twin-spot Carpet moth caterpillars.

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Wild Foxglove (digitalis purpurea) 
   

B.  Large downy leaves and spires of purple-pink bell-shaped flowers.  Good bee plant.  Found in open woodland.  Much folklore and magic surrounds the plant.  Food source of the Frosted Orange, Heath Fritillary, Lesser Yellow Underwing and Foxglove Pug moths.  Shade or partial shade.

CAUTION - HARMFUL IF EATEN
Wild Strawberry (fragaria vesca) 
   
P.  Small strawberries which are more full of goodness and tastier than garden strawberries.  Leaves provide food for Grizzled Skipper butterfly caterpillars.  Also attracts moths - Amulet, Yellow Shell, Beautiful Carpet, Dark Marbled Carpet and Common Marbled Carpet.  Fruits provide food for birds. 
Yellow Goatsbeard (tragopogon pratense) 
   

P.  Also known as Yellow Salsify because the flowers are virtually a yellow version of Salsify's purple ones.  Flowers May to July.  Found in rough grassland and road verges.  Ht 2 ft (60 cm).

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