Wild Flower Picking

[Palustris]

I was rather disturbed to watch a man showing vases full of wild flowers he had picked, (legally of course) on Breakfast TV this morning.
Pick the flowers and leave nothing for the early bees and consequently no seeds either. Not eco-friendly to me at all.
The lane on which we live has primroses virtually the full 2 mile length now. Why? I have carefully collected and sown seeds from the few clumps which survived the weed killer sprays of the past. Now any passing walker/cyclist/motorist is being encouraged to pick them.
Take nothing but photos and memories and leave nothing but foot prints.

[Tilly2]

I agree with you entirely, Palustris.

[anthro-nerd]

"Take nothing but photos and memories and leave nothing but foot prints."

Couldn't agree more.

[Palustris]

Lavender and Garlic are not native wild flowers, Spathiphylum. And many plants do not produce a second crop of flowers when the first ones are picked.
When we were children there was a wood near to us full of bluebells. Over the years, so many of them were picked that they eventually disappeared.
Saddest of all is that picked, many wild flowers do not last for very long, left alone they colour the road verges for weeks.
I do agree that we desperately need to educate our youngsters about the environment, but not sure that picking the flowers is the best way to do it.

[rowanwitch]

One of each to press and keep never two from the same clump. Carry a little bag of plant food and put a pinch by the plant to say thank you. But don't pick orchids of any kind or forgives, any of the nightshades, in fact it is probably safest to stick to daisies.

[rowanwitch]

Forgives.... foxgloves

[hereIam]

I used to plant wildflower seeds out in my small garden and loved watching them bloom. I think I'll start doing it again, maybe we all should do this to help wildlife and nature. Personally I think it should be illegal to pick wildflowers.

[Peter Pedant]

yeah I saw that and was surprised

and you are quite right there are some that seed and resow every year ( green veined orchid springs to mind )

Some greedy farmer ( aaargh!) in Keinton mandeville rang up the Darzet ( arrrh ) County COuncil in 1964 and said, "you gonna pay me for not mowing?"
and they said no of course not youre joking

and now you can go out to keinton M and see the field where they once were. ( where the green veined orchids once were )

I thought the Countryside act 1967 prohibited this
but he clearly said it didnt

[woofgang]

please don't give plant food to wildflowers. They grow where they grow because the circumstances are perfect and most of them need poor soil. Adding fertiliser encourages the coarser more invasive species and also grasses and can eradicate the wildflower you wanted to help.

[woofgang]

PP is sounds like the council should have coughed up.....

[woofgang]

http://plantlife.love-wildflowers.org.uk/about_us/blog/strategy

[Peter Pedant]

// PP is sounds like the council should have coughed up.....//

errr ( or arrrrrg! ) ish
if they had, we would have had the only field with green veined orchids - beside Swindon
the farmers idea of the fallow system was 20 y ahead of its time.