Conservation & Environment Guideline Leaflets
Wildflowers and the garden
Native wild flowers can be included in many planting schemes as a way of promoting biodiversity and linking gardens to the wider countryside. Plants must not be removed from the wild but should be obtained as seeds, bulbs or growing plants from reputable suppliers. The RHS offers advice on establishing and managing wild flowers in gardens. It is important that authentic native stock of wild flowers is used, especially where large scale plantings are being undertaken.
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A summary of RHS policy
1) The Royal Horticultural Society welcomes the increasing interest in the use of native wild flowers in gardens and the business that has developed to supply this market.
2) The RHS deplores the removal of plants from the countryside for use in gardens. Such collection is illegal without first obtaining the landowner's permission and even then should only be done in exceptional circumstances. Even the collection of seed is prohibited in the case of some rare or local species.
3) The RHS recommends that rather than the continual collection of seed from wild-grown plants, a limited amount of seed should be harvested by suppliers to be bulked up in cultivation for sale.
4) The RHS recommends that gardeners should obtain wild flower seed or plants derived from British stock whenever possible and encourages suppliers to indicate the provenance of their original seed collections.
5) The RHS encourages gardeners to bear in mind conservation issues when selecting a source of wild flowers, whether as seed or plants.
6) The RHS supports the Botanical Society of the British Isles and other conservation organisations in condemning the random scattering of seed or dumping of unwanted garden plants in the countryside.