The Wild Bunch Wildflower Seed Mix - 4 Varieties

Four flowers that want to be left alone. The Wild Bunch is a wildflower seeds mix for Pakistani gardens built around larkspur, marigold, lavender and stock — the naturalising, self-sufficient end of the winter garden. Scatter them along a boundary, down a rough strip beside a driveway, or across the back of a bed, and they will do the rest with far less water and fuss than a formal bedding scheme.

Every variety comes in its own labelled sachet inside the pack, which matters here because these four are sown at different depths and two of them want a spell in the fridge first.

What Is Inside the Pack

• Larkspur, annual delphinium (Consolida ajacis). Feathery spires a metre tall in blue, violet, pink and white. The best back-of-border flower in the pack and superb dried — hang the stems upside down in shade and the colour holds for a year.
• Marigold, gainda (Tagetes). Orange and gold pompoms, 30–90 cm depending on type. The single easiest flower in Pakistan, the one every wedding and shrine garland is made from, and a genuine working plant — its roots suppress root-knot nematodes in the soil around it.
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). Silver-grey foliage and fragrant purple spikes, 40–60 cm. A true perennial: the slowest thing in this pack to start, and the only one still in your garden five years from now.
• Stock, gul-e-shabbo (Matthiola incana). Thick spikes of double flowers in cream, pink, mauve and white, 40–60 cm. The strongest scent of any winter flower we sell — it carries right across a garden after sunset.

Growing Guide for Pakistan

• Sowing time: October to November in the Punjab plains — larkspur in particular wants cool soil and sulks if sown into September heat. Late September to October in Islamabad and Peshawar. November in Karachi. February to March in the hills.
• Method: Sow larkspur direct where it is to flower — it resents transplanting and rarely recovers from it. Marigold and stock transplant happily from trays. Lavender is best started in a tray you can watch closely.
• The fridge trick: Chill the sealed larkspur and lavender sachets in the refrigerator for 2–3 weeks before sowing. Both germinate far more evenly after a cold spell, and this one step is the difference between a scattered result and a full stand.
• Germination: Marigold 5–7 days, stock 7–14 days at 18 degrees C, larkspur 14–21 days at 15–18 degrees C, lavender 14–28 days and staggered. Slow and uneven germination is normal for the last two, not a fault.
• Spacing: Larkspur thinned to 25–30 cm, marigold 25–30 cm, stock 25 cm, lavender 40–45 cm.
• Flowering: Marigold from January, stock and larkspur from February to April. Lavender usually flowers in its second season — see the FAQ below.
• Sun and water: Full sun for all four. Larkspur, marigold and stock take moderate water; lavender wants sharp drainage and considerably less. Mix sand or perlite into lavender's planting hole and never let it sit wet.
• Staking: Larkspur reaches a metre and will lean in a windy spot. A single cane per plant, or planting them against a wall, solves it.
• Safety: Flower seed is not edible, and larkspur foliage and seed are toxic if eaten. Keep packets and plants away from children and pets.

Who This Pack Is For

Gardeners with space and not much time. A boundary strip, a farmhouse edge, a rough patch you want covered rather than curated. It is also the right pack if fragrance matters most to you — stock and lavender together are the two most scented things we stock — and if you want cut and dried flowers for the house, since larkspur dries better than almost anything else grown in Pakistan.

Frequently Asked Questions

• When should I sow this pack in Pakistan? October to November in the plains. This pack is deliberately later than our other mixes because larkspur and stock both germinate better once the soil has cooled below about 20 degrees C.
• How much ground will one pack cover? A boundary strip roughly 12 to 15 ft long, or a rough patch of about 8 x 5 ft. Marigold and larkspur both self-seed, so the area they cover grows on its own in the second season.
• Will the lavender flower this season? Usually not, and we would rather tell you plainly. Lavender grown from seed takes 14–28 days to germinate and normally spends its first season building roots and foliage, flowering properly in the second. What you get in return is a perennial that lives for years, unlike everything else in this pack. If you want lavender flowers this winter, buy an established plant instead.
• Can I just scatter the whole pack across a patch of ground? Larkspur and marigold, yes — rake the soil loose first, scatter, then rake lightly over and water with a fine rose. Stock and lavender do much better started in trays and transplanted, so we would keep those two separate.
• Is this a true wildflower meadow mix? It is a naturalising mix, not a native-species meadow mix. All four are garden flowers that behave well with minimal care in Pakistani conditions — larkspur and marigold will self-seed and return on their own in most gardens.
• What is the fridge trick and do I have to do it? Two to three weeks with the sealed sachet in the fridge, not the freezer, mimics winter and breaks seed dormancy. It is optional for marigold and stock, strongly recommended for larkspur, and close to essential for good lavender germination.
• Which of these come back next year? Lavender is a perennial and will be there for years. Larkspur and marigold self-seed reliably. Stock is an annual and is best re-sown each autumn.
• Is this pack good for a beginner? Marigold and stock, absolutely. Larkspur is easy provided you sow it direct and do not move it. Lavender is the one that tests patience — treat it as a long project rather than a quick result.
• What if the seeds do not germinate? Every batch is germination-tested in Lahore before shipping. With this pack in particular, slow germination is usually soil temperature rather than seed — full detail in why seeds fail to germinate in Pakistan. Message us on WhatsApp with a photo and we will help.

See also what to sow in September in Pakistan and the full winter flowering seeds collection.

Packed and germination-tested in Lahore before shipping. The Garden by Chanan Din, serving Pakistani gardeners since 1932.