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Even top RHS Chelsea garden designers rely on these fast-growing wildflowers for instant impact
Previously regarded as weeds, wildflowers are rapidly going up in the world of horticulture — and for good reason. Not only do they bring a softer, more naturalistic look to borders, but they’re also brilliant for pollinators, helping to attract bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects into the garden. This year, untamed blooms sway gently through Chelsea Flower Show gardens big and small. We picked out the fast-growing varieties you can plant now to fill out your own borders — and support wildlife — in just weeks.
This extremely fast-growing native wildflower features in a vast range of Chelsea gardens this year, including Sarah Eberle's gold medal-winning On the Edge Garden. The variety pictured here is Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ and can be found in The Boodles Garden, designed by Catherine MacDonald. Interestingly, it's one of the space's key plants, chosen for its dark, purple-toned stem, which add texture and depth.
Cow parsley produces lots of seed, so an individual plant can quickly multiply. Its flowers provide an early source of nectar for pollinators and beneficial insects, making it perfect for a wildlife-friendly garden.
This decorative cow parsely will thrivein well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. In autumn, cut down to near ground level and mulch well, say the RHS.
Daisies are exceptionally quick growers, and they feature in all their variations at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, most intriguingly underplanted (and therefore easily overlooked) in the gold-winning Lady Garden Foundation 'Silent No More' Garden. But it's not just gardens – the ox-eye daisy in this picture is growing in the border of an installation about wooden garden sculptures.
Often found growing in bold swathes, ox-eye daisy is brilliant for a wildlife meadow patch or your borders and beds. The RHS advises to grow this perennial in 'moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil' in full sun or partial shade. Deadhead regularly.
A very British wildflower, poppies can be spotted all across the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea this year. They add a pop of red to the muted borders of the Parkinson's UK garden (pictured), designed by Arit Anderson, underpin the relaxed feel of the RHS and The King's Foundation Curious Garden, and have helped the Goddard Addleshaw: Freedom to Flourish garden win RHS Chelsea Small Garden of the Year award. Now, it's time for them to spruce up your borders, too.
A common sight in cottage gardens and wildflower meadows, grow common poppy in any well-drained fertile soil in full sun. They also make brilliant cut flowers. Deadhead regularly.
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