Wild about Flowers By Deirdre Prince

Deirdre tells us why we should embrace wild flowers.

The word ‘wild’ has a somewhat negative connotation. If you look up the dictionary for the meaning of wild, words like uncultivated, untamed, uncontrolled and ferocious pop-up. Descriptions such as these create feelings of negativity and undesirableness. Is it any wonder that for years we have felt the need to tame and control any wild flowers that have appeared in our gardens? It’s almost as if anything described as wild is going to aggressively attack and conquer all that we have worked for in our controlled environments.

But if you delve deeper into the dictionary the word ‘wild’ can also mean native, enthusiastic, passionate and natural. Descriptions like these are much more acceptable to us and when it comes to wild flowers, I prefer to think of them as welcome, valuable additions to a garden, rather than invaders from outer space.

Read more in the September issue…