Wildflower Plants A to Z

Wild Angelica is a marshy wildflower boasting boisterous, tall-growing branches that are hairless and often tinted purple. Likewise, her bubbly bursts of bright white florets are often tinted with tiny pink spikes. The Wild Angelica was also once treasured as a decoration for cakes and confectionaries.

• Type: Perennial or biennial
• Height: 150–250cm.
• Flowers: July-September 
• Soil Requirement: Moist but well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun
• Natural Habitat: Damp meadows, wet woodlands, fenland
• Also known as: Garden Angelica, Wild Celery

The Lady’s Bedstraw is a hardy, sprawing plant which bears vast whorls and clusters of tiny golden flowers. It also boasts a distinct and sweet scent, even when dried: its unusual name originates from its use to scent bedding in Victorian times.

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 15-30cm.
• Flowers: June-September
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Grassy meadows, road verges, clifftops and hills
• Also known as: Maiden’s Hair, Fenwort, Cheese Rennet

Betony flowers bloom in spikes of rich wine red and purple, alongside distinct and attractive foliage. Its flowers are also known to attract bees and butterflies and they used to be planted in churchyards for spiritual protection. They grow well in any light, with an affinity for damp soil.

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 30-60cm.
• Flowers: June-August
• Soil Requirement: Moist but well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Grassy meadows, river banks
• Also known as: Bishops’s Wort,  Wood Betony, Common Hedgenettle

What else is there to say about the dainty azure arcs of the beloved Bluebell? Though they take several years to develop from seed, fully grown bluebells naturalise quickly and can multiply over time, leaving your garden awash and aglow with the famous fairy-tale flora! In addition, Bluebells can rarely grow in pink and white.

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 30–60cm.
• Flowers: April-June 
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Woodlands, hedge banks 
• Also known as: Bell Bottle, Cuckoo’s Boots, Witch’s Thimbles

The Great Burnet is a lively-looking plant, sporting crimson flower clusters atop tall, branching stems with distinct jagged leaves. They’re highly attractive to pollinators, and for a good reason; this wild-growing relative of the rose is not to be overlooked!

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 45-90cm.
• Flowers: June-September
• Soil Requirement: Moist but well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Floodplains, meadows, riverbanks
• Also known as: Burnet Bloodwort

A smaller species of burnet with miniature, round red flowers growing in clusters, as well as edible toothed leaves which are pleasantly scented when crushed.

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 20-50cm.
• Flowers: May-August
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun
• Natural Habitat: Chalky grasslands
• Also known as: Garden Burnet, Pimpernelle, Toper’s Plant

So-named for their swollen underground stem, the bulbous buttercup is a more widespread variant of the iconic glossy-yellow springtime wildflower. Thrives in acidic soil, with good sunlight to best bring out its golden glow.

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 30–45cm. 
• Flowers: March-June 
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun
• Natural Habitat: Meadows, grasslands, road verges 
• Also known as: Frogs-Foot, Goldcup

The Chicory is a perfect mix of energetic colour and grace, producing feathery, sky blue petals on thin, branching stems. In addition to making a creative climber, the Chicory’s roots have also seen a wide range of culinary uses, especially as an alternative to coffee - but we think the beauty of its bold blooms are enough of a boost!

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 30–90cm. 
• Flowers: June-October 
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun
• Natural Habitat: Fields, road verges 
• Also known as: Blue Dandelion, French Endive, Succory

Appearance-wise, the Common Daisy’s nothing crazy, with a ruffle of thin white petals, sometimes tinged pink, framing a central crown of tiny yellow florets. But love it or love it not, this famous flora is certainly robust, hardy and long-flowering, meaning its classic, cheery charm will shine in a lawn, bed or meadow for quite some time.

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 5–10cm.
• Flowers: All year 
• Soil Requirement: Moist or well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Meadows, woodlands, road verges
• Also known as: Bone Flower, Goose Flower, Luckin Gowan

Now here's a foxy flower- literally! Bearing fuzzy-looking, monarch orange flowers with brush-like edges, with stems covered in black hairs, it's easy to compare this low-maintenance wildflower to a fox leaving its den- and the clusters of new flowers which open beneath it to its shy, newborn litter of cubs!

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 15-30cm
• Flowers: June-September
• Soil requirement: Well-drained
• Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural habitat: Meadows, embankments, road verges, stony wasteland
• Also known as: Devil's Paintbrush, Golden Mouse Ear, Grim-the-Collier

Few flowers match the fairy-tale flair of the foxglove: its towering stems of majestic magenta bells feature heavily across myths as a source of healing and protective magic, and a favourite of fairies- we can’t confirm if that’s true, but they are a favourite of bees and butterflies! Best grown in the back of a border to frame other flowers. Make sure to handle with gloves. 

• Type: Biennial 
• Height: 60–150cm.
• Flowers: June-September 
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Forest borders, footpaths
• Also known as: Dragon’s Mouth, Fairy Bells, Thimble Flower

Produces pearl white, four-petalled flowers and distinctly toothy heart-shaped leaves which provide the plant its name, as they smell like garlic when crushed. Its leaves are good for culinary usage, but its flowers make an excellent dressing for the garden, with their star-like petals sprinked beneath a bush creating a delectable display.

• Type: Biennial
• Height: 30-80cm. 
• Flowers: April-July
• Soil Requirement: Well-Drained
• Light Requirement: Full or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Woodlands, hedgerows
• Also known as: Jack-By-The-Hedge, Hedge Garlic

Goat's Rue is a medium to tall plant with lilac-to-lavender petals in the shape of small sweetpeas. While it was previously grown readily as forage and medicinal crop, it's nowadays seen as an excellent ornamental plant that is attractive to a variety of insects as a food source. 

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 100-150cm.
• Flowers: July to September
• Soil requirement: Moist but well-drained
• Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural habitat: Damp meadows, river banks
• Also known as: French Lilac, Professor-Weed, Italian Finch

What’s better than the Anise Hyssop’s clumps-forming, soft spikes of mauve flowers? Perhaps only its aromatic leaves! A nectar-rich scented sensation of a herb best placed at the back of a border, where it brings in bees and butterflies. 

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 60-100cm.
• Flowers: June-September 
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Dry forests, praries
• Also known as: Fragrant Giant Hyssop, Lavender Giant Hyssop

The Yellow Flag Iris is thought by some to be the original fleur-de-lis, a symbol of heraldry and royalty. And while the golden, three-petalled flowers and blade-like leaves are regal indeed, its true name is just as appropriate, as this water-resistant plant grows on tall, branching stems which display its beautiful blooms like flags waving in the wind. Recommended as a pond-side plant.

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 100-150cm. 
• Flowers: May-August
• Soil Requirement: Moist
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Marsh, flood planes, ditches
• Also known as: Flagon, Water Flag, Yellow Fleur-De-Lis

A robust marsh flower which produces tall plumes of magenta blooms. Perfect for the pondside- let them loose and enjoy these sensational spikes of colour as they bring in bees!

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 60-120cm. 
• Flowers: June-September
• Soil Requirement: Moist
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Marshes, riverbanks, fens
• Also known as: Black Blood, Rainbow Weed, Red Sally

This is the perfect pond-side plant for those wanting a breath of fresh air! Produces globes of pale pink petals that are good for pollinators, and just as appealing are its aromatic leaves, which can even be used as a flavouring. Needless to say, this is one cool flower.

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 60-80cm.
• Flowers: July-October 
• Soil Requirement: Moist
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Wet meadows, marshes, river banks
• Also known as: Fish Mint

A creeping perennial which produces pink and white, pea-like petals, with equally-appealing and hardy hairy foliage with toothed leaves. An ideal meadow plant which prefers sandy soil and blooms in late summer, which also attracts bees and butterflies. 

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 30-60cm.
• Flowers: July-September
• Soil Requirement: Well-drained
• Light Requirement: Full sun
• Natural Habitat: Grassland, coastal areas
• Also known as: Cammock, Land Whin, Stay-Plough

A shrub-like perennial that's usually found in infertile meadows and grasslands that compliments other species such as Vetch, Betony and Knapweed. Bold, red-pink, delicate flowers on erect, spiny stems. 

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 40-50cm
• Flowers: July-September
• Soil requirement: Natural-acidic
• Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural habitat: Grassland, meadows, roadsides
• Also known as: Women's War, Plough Tail 

For those looking for something truly unique, the Burnet Saxifrage is one in a million: bearing thin branches of miniature, crystal-white floral umbels like snowflakes, as well as highly variable foliage, ranging from thin and sharp to short and toothed.  It’s easy to naturalise, and its simple colouration makes it a suitable addition to any arrangement.

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 50–100cm.
• Flowers: May-September
• Soil Requirement: Moist but well-drained
• Light Requirement: Sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Grassland, heathland
• Also known as: Lesser Burnet

Named after from its shallow roots, said to have been bitten short in folklore, the Devil’s Bit Scabious is a devilishly good addition to a loamy spot in the garden. Produces rounded, purple-blue ‘pincushion’ flower heads on upright stems. A hardy and alluring plant which attracts bees and butterflies.

• Type: Perennial
• Height: 50–80cm. 
• Flowers: June-September
• Soil Requirement: Moist but well-drained
• Light Requirement: Sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Bogs, woodland, heathlands
• Also known as: Blue Bonnets, Bobby Bright Buttons, Fore-Bit

The Cyperus Sedge produces drooping, yellow-green tufted flowers, which are well-suited for pond margins for those who want a super lush and lively look. Hardy and tall-growing, the blade-like leaves of this sedge provide important cover for waterside wildlife.

• Type: Perennial  
• Height: 60-90cm.
• Flowers: May-June 
• Soil Requirement: Moist
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Marshes, river banks, ditches
• Also known as: Sedge Hop

Perhaps named for its spiky, orange-and-bronze tinted flower heads, there’s no mistaking the sedge’s characteristic fresh green tint and long, slender leaves. Best planted in heavy soil or slightly submerged in water to create a vibrant display at the water’s edge and benefit the wildlife. 

• Type: Perennial  
• Height: 60-90cm.
• Flowers: June-July 
• Soil Requirement: Moist
• Light Requirement: Full sun or partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Marshes, river banks, ditches

The Pendulous Sedge is a popular pond-side plant, and for a good reason- its nodding, tufted heads of grassy-green and golden-brown flowers really complete the mood of a marshy meadow, and are attractive to wildlife as well! One of the tallest species of sedge, this boisterous and hardy plant will self-seed readily.   

• Type: Perennial 
• Height: 100-140cm.
• Flowers: May-June
• Soil Requirement: Moist
• Light Requirement: Partial shade
• Natural Habitat: Marshes, river banks, wet woodlands
• Also known as: Great Pendulous Sedge