Planting Wildflowers: A Grower's Guide to Welcoming the Wild

by Jane Moore

Planting for Wildflowers is a practical, illustrated guide for people wanting to encourage more pollinators to their outdoor space. Packed with interesting facts, environmental and habitat information as well as easy to achieve planting ideas, this book is a celebration of native blooms to help rewild your outdoor space.

By gardening sustainably, you can make a considerable difference to local wildlife. Discover how to chose species and varieties that suit your growing conditions, no matter the size of your space.

Planting Wildflowers is aimed at the keen amateur gardener and those hoping to take their knowledge and experience to the next level.

Planting Wildflowers is part of a series of books aimed at encouraging wildlife into your garden. Other titles in the series Planting for Garden Birds, Planting for Butterflies, Planting for Wildlife, Planting for Honeybees.

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2024

About the author

Gardening is my passion. I'm a hands-on head gardener, an award-winning gardening journalist and a regular speaker at gardening clubs and events. I'm a bit of a horticultural adventurer, embracing diverse challenges such as planting a National Collection, creating a small garden at Chelsea Flower Show and guest presenting on BBC Gardeners' World.
Gardening and writing about gardening have been my whole career. I have a wide-ranging practical experience, a broad plant knowledge and an unswerving enthusiasm for all things gardening.
As well as numerous awards for my garden writing I’ve also won the Relais & Chateaux garden Trophy for my garden at The Bath Priory and an RHS medal for the creation of ‘The Mini Garden’ at Chelsea Flower Show in 2003. I’m also lucky to have worked with famous garden designers including Arne Maynard, Cleve West and Diarmuid Gavin.

Reviews

[Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the start reading this book was great and then I starting realizing there were flaws in this book that ultimately ended up affecting my overall review on this book and thoughts on it.
I will start with the positives of this book and end with the negatives.

I like this book because it's very nature positive and I love that.
For example, it tells you the reason why squirrels are great for the environment and why they shouldn't be viewed as a pest.
I also loved learning about the different kinds of wildflowers out there and learned some names of plants and insects that I've known for a long time but called under a different name because I didn't know the actual name for it.
The illustrations are also very beautiful and really make this beautiful stunning and pleasant to read.



The downfall for this book in my personal opinion is a couple of reasons.
I got this book to help guide me in the right direction on planting wildflowers.
But you see, this book only focuses on one continent (Europe) and the USA, not even North America... just the USA. And as someone who lives in Canada, this was a big letdown.
But also wildflowers are such a vast topic in so many continents and to only include one continent and the USA is barely the tip of the iceberg.
I also wish this book would tell readers to DO RESEARCH!
As if I followed this book right now without research on the plant and planted the Cow Parsley also known as Wild Chervil I would be affecting the plants around me. As Cow Parsley (Wild Chervil) is invasive in parts of Canada, or all of Canada, I am not sure but I know it's invasive in parts of it.
So if you do end up getting this book, PLEASE do research so you're not accidentally planting a invasive plant.

Not the best book I've read but I am still happy I read it.

[Gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, but disappointingly scattered and more UK-focused than I wanted. As someone interested in animal-plant interactions specifically, I didn't learn much of anything. All the topics are covered at a surface level - wildflowers are highlighted as being good for animals and pollinators, beautiful, and easy to grow. There are lists of suggested plants, but only a few of them are illustrated. Reads a bit like a garden show tour of a wildflower meadow was turned into a book, but without as many of the practical takeaways.

[Eileen Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Planting Wildflowers: A Grower’s Guide is a visually stunning and informative book. From its inviting cover to the beautiful illustrations inside, it captures the essence of wildflowers. The text is clear and accessible, making it a quick, light read for anyone interested in growing wildflowers. Packed with practical tips on selecting and caring for wildflowers, this guide is perfect for both beginners and experienced gardeners. Whether you’re planting a small garden or a larger habitat, this book offers valuable insights to help you create a vibrant, sustainable wildflower space.

[Zarina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very pretty little book, but not as helpful as I would've liked. The information within is fairly basic and as it covers different parts of the world, it doesn't go in depth on UK wildflowers enough to work as a proper guide. I also would've liked more useful illustrations specifically depicting the plants described on that page, rather than just prettily designed borders showing a mixture of flowers. 2.5 stars

[Greer Rutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great balance of explaining why its important to have wildflowers and great tips and tricks for cultivation!! love! only qualms were how few illustrations which meant you couldnt tell what was what, save a few rare pictures.

[Sara]

So beautifully illustrated.