September 16th, 2025

It's time to sow wildflower seed.
Wildflower meadows typically flower between May and September, so it seems odd to be talking about them at the end of the flowering season. But September and October is the best times to sow for next years crop of wildflowers.
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Betchworth is well known for its wildflowers. In 2023, 70 residents participated in Re-Betchworth’s, B-Line project.  The B stands for biodiversity and B-Lines are an attempt to improve biodiversity within a network of narrow corridors that criss-cross the country connecting different regional scale habitats for wildlife.

B-Lines are a simple but powerful idea developed by ‘Buglife’ – the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, to help reverse the rapid decline of wildflower meadows and pollinating insects by encouraging people and landowners to cultivate more wildflowers and protect the wildflowers that already exist.
 
The B-Line project encouraged Betchworth residents to cultivate more wildflowers to help insect pollinators, many of which are in decline.  5kg of perennial wildflower seed containing over 30 species and 5 million seeds was sown, covering an area of around 2000 sq m. In 2025 another 4000 sq m of wildflower cultivation have been added thanks to the significant areas sown by the Betchworth Estate.
 
With the financial assistance of Betchworth Parish Council and the Betchworth & Buckland Society the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative is providing residents of Buckland, Betchworth, Brockham and Box Hill with free native wildflower seed. The seeds will need to be sown in September or October on to bare soil. Please dig up any grasses or weeds before you sprinkle the seed on the soil. When sown tread the seed into the ground so it makes good contact and water well.

The ultimate goal of our More Wildflowers Campaign is to make the 4Bs a place where wildflowers can flourish. 
 
TO REQUEST YOUR FREE SEED PLEASE email [email protected] with the size of area you would like to sow and your address.

Information about sowing and manintaining a wildflower patch can be found here
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Norman Jackson is the 4Bs Biodiversity Initiative team leader

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