SeedBall – Butterfly Mix
SeedBall Butterfly Mix
A heavenly selection of native wildflower seeds for butterflies! Using only wildflower species recommended by Butterfly Conservation,
our butterfly mix includes both early and late summer flowering plants:
- Forget-me-not, Myosotis arvensis – Annual. Flowers April – October
- Red campion, Silene dioica – Perennial. Flowers May – June
- Yarrow, Achillea millefolium – Perennial. Flowers June – August
- Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria – Perennial. Flowers June – August
- Musk mallow, Malva moschata – Perennial. Flowers June – August
Each tin contains at least 20 seed balls
Each seed ball contains approximately 150 butterfly mix seeds. For best results, scatter in the spring or autumn
All seed is responsibly sourced in the UK from Flora Locale accredited suppliers, we use only peat-free compost and our steel
tins are manufactured in London (they are also super re-usable and recyclable).
SEEDBALL is run by project MAYA, a non-profit eco-social enterprise working to promote environmental sustainability following
the principles of permaculture.
Seed balls are a great permaculture technique for growing seed in a more simple and effective way. SEEDBALL have applied
this technique to make wildflower seed balls, as growing wildflowers from seed can be super challenging! As life can
get pretty hectic, Seedball wanted to make it a bit easier for everyone to have gardens, balconies and window boxes that
are bursting with native wildflowers, buzzing bees and beautiful butterflies!
Each seed ball contains a mini ecosystem: wildflower seeds are mixed with clay, peat-free compost and a smidgen of chili
powder, and rolled into a small ball. Each ball is approximately 1cm in diameter, making them so easy to just scatter.
The dried clay acts as a protective casing from common seed predators (such as ants, mice and birds). When sufficient
rain permeates the clay, the seeds inside begin to germinate – helped along by the nutrients and minerals contained within
the balls. The chili powder continues to deter predators while the seed ball slowly degrades and the seeds sprout.
Seed balls will work well in most environments (as long as the type of seed used is suited to that environment) and they
are particularly useful in dry and arid areas where rainfall is highly unpredictable and in severely degraded land. Various
forms of seed balls have been used throughout history – from ancient Chinese civilisations to Native American tribes!
More recently, seed balls were promoted by the Japanese natural farming innovator Masanobu Fukuoka. Fukuoka demonstrated
that with the labour of just two people working a few weeks a year, seed balls could produce high crop yields without
the need for plowing, weeding, or the application of pesticides and fertiliser.
Although the use of seed balls in the UK is only just emerging, they are commonly used in ecological restoration projects
across many other parts of the world, such as the Rainmaker Project in Kenya. They have also been used creatively for
re-greening urban areas and for urban gardening (sometimes in very unusual places!).
