How would Germany look without native plants and wildflowers? Euroflorist explores

With a noted decline in native plants, it’ll come as no surprise that our study found that almost three-quarters (72%) of German adults are worried about the loss of meadows and natural habitats in the country.

But what are wildflowers? Well, they are the flowers native to Germany. The flowers you’ll see in your garden, and in your bouquets, will have originated from different wildflowers. And a meadow could hold over 100 species of different wildflowers that bloom every spring creating beautiful, colourful fields. 

Sadly, two thirds of Germans are worried about wildflowers becoming extinct in the country (68%). Another 67% said they are worried about Germany’s plant and wildflower biodiversity.

Biodiversity is simply an area with a diverse mix of native plants and flowers. This creates a rich wildflower habitat that provides food and shelter for bees, butterflies and insects. Having a natural mix of wildflowers instead of all the same species of bloom is important because it creates mini-ecosystems that support wildlife and the wider environment.

Two thirds (66%) believe they see less wildflowers in our day to day than they did 10 years ago. And it’s not just ourselves we’re concerned for. 70% say they worry that future generations won’t see as many flowers as they have. 

But why are wildflowers important? Do we really need them in Germany?

When asked on the importance of nature, 85% of German adults said they believe it’s important to preserve natural landscapes, while 65% said they enjoy visiting natural areas such as a local natural garden or flower fields to see German flowers and wildlife. 

Aside from their beautiful look, wildflowers serve plenty of practical benefits:

- They provide pollinators with food, which then supports the country’s food supplies. Without flowers to support insects such as bees, we would need to artificially pollinate our fruit and vegetables.

- Wildflower meadows can help mitigate flooding due to their root systems. 

- Some wildflowers can be used in medicine–for example, foxglove can be used to treat heart disease!

And it’s not just how they benefit us, they also make us feel better. When asked “do flowers make you happy?”, a resounding 69% said that seeing flowers makes them feel happier. Meanwhile, over three-fifths also said that seeing flowers makes them feel calmer (65%). 

In fact, 82% believe that gardens are important to local communities. And they aren’t wrong. There are plenty of benefits to having flowers both for individuals and communities! The psychological benefits of flowers have been noted in plenty of studies, with papers finding that seeing flowers consistently lowers depression and anxiety and gives people higher life satisfaction. 

The reasoning behind the impact and psychology of flowers is simple. Seeing flowers stimulates our sense of colour, scent, and texture, which leads to our body producing ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitters (such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin), stimulating positive feelings and helping us relax. So it’s no shock that the majority of us love seeing them in our day to day lives.

Our love of all things floral even extends to paintings of flowers and natural landscapes. 

To see how impactful we truly find flowers, we asked German adults to choose the paintings they felt were most emotional to look at, offering a range of famous paintings from Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, all the way to the famous Van Gogh’s flower paintings, the Sunflowers series. 

Whether it’s viewing art in-person or online, flowers seem to have a huge impact on how we feel about the piece. Our study found that four out of the five most emotional artworks contain flowers, either as the main subject or foreground setting.    

To see the true impact of these famous flower paintings, the team at Euroflorist then took these artworks and removed a key element from them – any trace of flowers. 

Imagining artworks without flowers

Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose by John Singer Sargent was the most emotional artwork, as over a quarter (27%) said it was impactful to look at. 

The work was set in an English garden in the Cotswolds, painted in 1885-86. On display at the Tate Britain, this painting shows two children lighting paper lanterns while surrounded by roses, carnations and lilies.

However, when you remove the flowers from this artwork, you can see how bare the piece becomes, highlighting just how important flowers are when creating an emotional scene.

Coming in second was Monet’s Water-Lily Pond, as 26% said it was impactful to view. Wild flower paintings are common to see in Claude Monet’s work, who frequently painted his beautiful garden in Giverny, France. Monet flower paintings are on display across the Musee de l’Orangerie in Paris, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and London’s National Gallery. 

But when reimagining his Water-Lily Pond without any of the flowering details, the art falls short of the emotive scene we’re used to.

The Oak Tree in Snow painting by German artist Casper David Friedrich came in third place in the study (23% found this emotional to view). Friedrich was a German Romantic landscape painter, whose work often conveyed an emotional response to the natural world, so it’s no surprise we find his art impactful. 

Oak trees are flowering trees which means that in a world without flowers, this artwork turns into a barren wasteland.

Ophelia by John Everett Millais was voted as another emotional artwork, as over one in five (22%) said it was impactful to look at. 

Painted in 1851-52, Ophelia shows the Shakespearean character from Hamlet drowning in a river. Although your eyes may go straight to Ophelia, this artwork is considered a very prominent flower painting and is known for its detailed study of the plant life on the river, as well as the flowers chosen to float on the river with Ophelia. Reflecting the Victorian’s interest in floriography (or, the language of flowers) the red poppies throughout represent sleep and death, and without them we can see the painting misses some of its original impact.

In comparison, the only non-flower piece of art to make the top five was The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali which 15% of respondents found impactful and emotional to view.

Plenty of us want to head to the best places to see wildflowers, and to specific flower fields alike. Almost half (45%) said they would put the tulip fields in Keukenhof Gardens, the Netherlands on their bucket list to visit. 

Meanwhile almost over a third (36%) would want to head to France to see Monet’s garden in real life. 

To illuminate just how bare these bucket list locations would be without their blooms, we reimagined these top sights without their iconic flowers and safe to say they wouldn’t be as wishlist worthy as they are now. 

Keukenhof Gardens looks incredibly bare when missing their blooming tulip fields.

When it comes to Europe’s natural landscapes, a third (35%) said they would want to visit Spain’s Ruta de Almendras en Flor. From January to March you can enjoy almond blossoms along this popular route in the Canary Islands, although it may be less appealing with totally bare trees. 

France is also known for its iconic lavender fields that a third (33%) would want to go and see. Although still offering a vast view, the landscape is less colourful without its blooms. 

Luckily, Germans prove to be very proactive, as when asked, only 5% of people said they don’t do anything to help with nature and biodiversity loss in their area.

The most common habits we have to help out with our local nature is buying locally grown fruits and vegetables (57%), buying seasonal produce (54%), and not using pesticides in our gardens (48%).

When it comes to our gardens, you can consider creating your own wildflower garden. In fact, 38% of Germans already say they plant native flowers, trees, and shrubs in their garden, which is perfect for local wildflower populations. Another 44% said they grow insect-friendly plants to help with pollination, while 43% say they already are on their way to a wildflower garden, as they keep their lawn totally natural. 

Supporting local nature organisations (16%) and volunteering at community gardens (11%) are other popular options according to German adults. And these can be the perfect way to get involved if you don’t have your own garden or allotment to tend to!

How to create a natural garden

If you’re wondering how to create a natural garden yourself, it can be surprisingly easy. 

You can try growing wildflowers across your entire garden, or create your own allotment garden. A wildflower meadow can be any size, so don’t worry if you only have a small amount of space to work with. 

1. Stop fertilising your lawn

The first step when it comes to growing wildflowers is to stop using any fertilisers on your lawn. Wildflowers prefer poor soil, so you need to mow regularly, remove any grass clippings and stop any fertilising to lower soil’s nutrients and prepare it for your wildflowers. 

2. Stop mowing your lawn in spring 

Come spring, stop tending to your lawn and see what sprouts–you may even find you already have wildflowers wanting to grow!

3. Choose your native plans for gardens

Choose a seed mix that suits your garden’s soil, and will be native to Germany. Common meadow flowers include blue cornflowers, dandelions, daisies and cowslip. 

When to sow wildflowers? You can sow most seed mixes in early to mid-spring but check any packets you have for details. If your soil is lighter, you can sow in autumn, although you won’t see any blooms until the next spring. If your soil is heavy and tends to get water-logged over winter, wait until spring to sow any of your flowers. 

You should remove your turf and top soil, and you can then sow your seeds. Add sand to your seed mix to make sure you can see where you’ve planted and get an even spread of seeds. Scatter seeds across your chosen area and then walk or roll the patch to make sure they’re firmly in the soil. You don’t need to cover them with soil afterwards, simply leave them to germinate on their own. 

4. How to maintain your natural garden

Once you have an established meadow, in summer you should get a beautiful garden display! And after flowering, you can then do a ‘hay cut’ in late summer. This involves cutting the grass and flowers at their base, rather than mulching them with a normal lawn mower. You can then leave these for a week to dry out and any flower seeds to drop–ensuring you get new blooms next year–before you remove any hay.