Notes on wildflowers

8 December 2025 · 1 min read

A watering can helps, but it is not the point. Saving seed means next year’s garden starts this autumn.

What I would do differently

Leave some corners messy; the insects will thank you. The slugs got most of the lettuce, but the beans did well. A cold frame extends the season by weeks at either end.

It took me seven attempts to see the pattern. The best advice I got was just to slow down. Compost is slow magic, and it cannot be rushed. The shift showed up slowly, then all at once.

Closing thoughts

The result is not perfect, but it is honest. I sow a little too early every spring and never seem to learn. The small things matter less than the practice of paying attention. This got going as a quick note and slowly turned into something longer. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer.

• Give saving seed a full winter
• Start with cover crops and nothing else
• Give pruning roses a full autumn

I attempted the organic version first. It did not last. For a long time I treated wildflowers as an afterthought.

pruning