Wildflowering

Our community wildflower project

Spring sees leaves returning and flowers blooming, and this year, we are turning the borough purple – one of our heritage colours which remember the Mitcham lavender fields of the past.

We’re calling on the community to join in our borough-wide planting programme as part of We Are Merton at 60 birthday celebrations and to help in our mission to green the grey and improve the biodiversity of our borough.

At home

We will be providing free purple wildflower seed packs across Merton libraries, Better leisure centres, at our town centre events and at We Are Merton Festival so you can create your own mini wildflower meadow at home.

All you need to do is pop along to one of these locations and the staff will show you how to build your very own seed-pack so you can join in turning Merton purple.

Let’s help turn Merton purple!

To celebrate Merton’s 60th birthday—and our area’s lavender-growing history—we’re planting purple wildflowers to make our borough bloom. You can help from your own garden, balcony, or even a window box!

Purple wildflowers aren’t just pretty—they’re great for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators too.

What you’ll need

A packet ofpurple wildflower seeds
(Get one FREE from Merton libraries, Better leisure centres, or local events!)
A spade, trowel, or just your hands!
A watering can or hose
Some soil, a flowerbed, or a big pot
A rake (if you’ve got one)

Let’s get planting

1. Find a sunny spot
Choose a sunny patch in your garden or a big flowerpot.

2. Prepare the ground
Pull out weeds and stones. Loosen the soil using your hands or a tool. Rake it smooth if you can.

3. Scatter the seeds
Sprinkle your purple wildflower seeds evenly across the soil.

4. Press them in
Pat them gently with your hand or rake. No need to dig them deep!

5. Water gently
Give the seeds a light watering. Keep the soil damp (but not soggy!).

6. Wait for magic!
In a few weeks, you’ll see tiny green shoots—and soon, beautiful purple flowers!

What will grow?

The wildflowers in your mix were chosen for their cool purple, blue, and white colours and for how much pollinators love them! Here are just a few you might spot:

Flower name	Colour	Fun Fact
Centaurea ‘Blue Boy’	Bright blue	Also called cornflowers
Salvia horminum ‘Blue’	Deep purple	Bees LOVE it!
Phacelia campanularia	Sky blue	Also called Desert Bluebell
Delphinium ajacis (blue)	Soft blue	Grows tall and elegant
Scabiosa ‘Blue’	Lavender blue	Looks like a pincushion!
Nemophila insignia	Baby blue	Has sweet little round petals
Cosmos ‘Albatross’	White	Looks like snowflakes in summer

These flowers grow from spring to autumn, changing throughout the seasons and giving colour all summer long.

You’re part of something bigger

By planting your seeds, you’re helping Merton bloom—and bringing back the purple magic of Mitcham’s famous lavender fields. Look out for wildflowers in parks, pavements, and town centres all over Merton!

Let’s grow something beautiful—together.

In parks and greenspaces

We will be planting purple wildflowers across pocket parks, in many of the borough’s WildWays and in our greenspaces. Keep an eye out for purple popping up near you! 

Around town centres

Planters around our borough’s town centres, libraries and Civic Centre will be sown with our purple wildflower seeds, ready for our celebrations. Over the coming months you will start to see them bloom.