As honeybees are still under threat in the UK, we have updated our Seeded Heart Project using specific seeds to encourage bees and butterflies to the garden this summer.

You will need:

Skill level: Beginner

• Flower seeds – many brands now highlight on their packaging which seeds are bee and butterfly pollinators. For this project, we used Wildflower seeds.
• Newspaper
• Blender or hand blender
• Mixing Bowl
• Sieve
• Old towel/newspaper
• Water

To make:

To make this project we used the method (steps 1-8) from the ‘Show The Love’ Campaign Seeded Heart project, however, rather than using coloured paper and shaping into hearts, we simplified the recipe by using old newspaper from household recycling and made small pellet shapes (approx. 4cm x 2cm) rolled by hand.

Note: You can use any paper you have at home (although If you use just newspaper, the decomposing time is much quicker than glossy paper) and make the pellets into any shape you like using your hands, cutters or moulds. The drying time will differ depending on the size and shape you choose – we left the pellets to dry outside in the sunshine.

Once planted in the soil, make sure you water them well as this will help to breakdown the paper and will also make them germinate.