Shade and Woodland Edge Mix

Why it suits Ireland

Ireland is short of woodland but full of woodland edge. Hedgerows, tree lines and shaded garden boundaries add up to the habitat most of these plants actually live in, and the species in this mix are among the most common wild flowers in the country for that reason.

The climate helps here rather than hindering. Woodland species want moisture and cool roots through summer, which is precisely what an Irish shaded border delivers even in July. The mild wet winters that rot meadow seedlings suit these plants, because most of them keep some leaf through the winter and start growing in February.

One thing to note before you read the quick facts above: the wildflower pages on this site assume full sun, because meadow mixes need it. This mix is the exception, and it is the only one here that will do anything under a canopy.

Growing notes

Sow between late August and October. This matters more for shade species than for anything else, because many of them, primrose in particular, need a period of cold and damp before they will germinate at all. A spring sowing of this mix usually sits in the ground until the following spring anyway.

Clear the ground properly first. Nettles, cleavers and ivy at a hedge base will smother seedlings, and unlike a meadow you cannot mow the competition down. Rake to expose soil, sow at about 1 gram per square metre, and press the seed in without covering it. A scatter of leaf litter over the top in autumn is fine and mimics what happens naturally.

Water in the first spring if a dry spell arrives, which it does more often than Irish gardeners expect in April and May. After that the mix needs almost nothing.

Cut it once, in late summer after the seed has dropped, and take the material away. Foxglove and red campion both self-seed freely once established, so the patch will thicken and shift about from year to year rather than staying where you put it.