Quick replacement for ruined wildflower patch?

[stillfrazzled]

DS and I scattered two packets of bee- and butterfly-friendly seeds on a patch of empty ground at the end of the garden.

It was all growing beautifully, and then the guy we had in to build our new deck at the weekend mistook it for a patch of just waste ground and dumped all the spare earth on it .

Am a bit miffed - was the only thing I'd managed to grow from seed, plus that bit of land now looks like the tip it is.

Can anyone recommend something that grows fast, and will look OK with any of the wildflowers that survive?

[isthatporridgeinyourhair]

Mmm what about Phacelia? Good for bees/butterflies, annual and used as a green manure crop (good for the soil).

[GrendelsMum]

Wow - beautiful plant! I think I've been admiring it for several weeks at the garden where I work without knowing the name.

I've found nigella and poppies have self-sown very well in that situation (though I deliberately dumped the soil!), and at least you quickly get the foliage from the nigella.

[stillfrazzled]

Oooh, the Phacelia is completely gorgeous. Will check out pronto.

I do love poppies (there were loads in the wildflower mix, sob) but is it too late to plant them now? Likewise the nigella?

[traumaqueen]

no, just scatter them round and let them get on with it. You've got a good chance of them gettin going and flowering later this summer. Also poached egg flower, california poppy, nasturtiums, cornflowers. They will need a bit of watering to get going in this heat - personally I would water first, then scatter, then rake them in a bit and let them go.