Description
The Seahorse Trust is a charity very close to our hearts. These extraordinary little creatures are killed in their millions every year to be part of jewellery or for Chinese medicine and for sale as pets. And their death is not a pleasant one – they are hauled out of the ocean and left to suffocate on the beach in boiling heat and pain to dry them out. If things carry on the way they are, seahorses will be extinct in less than 30 years. This is an awful thing to contemplate and we must do all we can to prevent this. You can help by not buying jewellery or other trinkets containing real seahorses and by helping to support The Seahorse Trust in their fabulous work to help save these marvellous marine animals.
Seahorses enjoy a bit of romance and pair up as the perfect couple and so are an ideal symbol for true love. The Seahorse Trust was set up in 1999 as an umbrella organisation to preserve and conserve the marine environment using Seahorses as their flagship species. They work in partnership with many organisations and people from all over the world.
Seahorses are a unique fish species that occupy the coastal areas of most of the world and they are under threat, being vulnerable to human and natural interference they suffer badly and by working together we can make a difference to their future and the future of these fragile eco-systems.
In 2018 myself, Neil Garrick-Maidment (founder The Seahorse Trust) and Hugo Swire MP met with Michael Gove, then Environmental Minister, to discuss the plight of seahorses in the UK round Studland Bay and abroad.
The Seahorse Trust is a registered charity – number 1086027. For every one of these seed packets sold, a donation of 50p will be made to them.
The seed packets are made from recycled white paper and measure 9 x 12 cm. The seeds inside are in a paper sachet (not plastic and foil) and are a mix of British-grown British wildflower seeds – Cornflower, Corn Chamomile, Corn Marigold and Poppy. All these flowers are perfect for butterflies, bees, moths, hoverflies and other little bugs!
The seed packets are personalised with your wedding details – please advise these in the box above. The seeds are also viable for a few years so if not using them imminently they can be stored somewhere cool and dry out of direct sunlight.
“This is just lovely and probably my favourite. Such a small charity and the personalisation and design of the packet is adorable.” (happy customer review!)
By buying these charity seed packets you are helping nature in more ways than one!
About the Seeds
Cornflower
This pretty wildflower was once common in the wild cornfields but is now very rare in the wild, having been eradicated by farmers. The flowers are blue and “fluffy” and much loved by bumblebees, honeybees and solitary bees.. All members of the centaurea family are rich in nectar.
Latin name – centaurea cyanus
Height – 60 cm
Habitat – sun
Annual
Flowering time – June to August
Corn Marigold
Corn Marigold is popular with butterflies, bees and other bugs. Its vibrant yellow flowers are fabulous
Latin name – chrysanthemum segetum
Height – 60 cm
Flowering time – June to August
Annual
Habitat – sunny
Poppy
Familiar red flowers sometimes seen in field margins in the wild, or, rarely, abundant in fields. Poppies are also wild grassland and meadow flowers.
Latin name – papaver rhoeas
Height – up to 60 cm
Habitat – sunny
Flowering time – June to September
Hardy annual.
Poppies produce abundant pollen, which is generally very dark in colour. Bumblebees and honeybees in particular seem to like it. Some reports suggest that poppies may have a bit of a narcotic effect on bees, someone in Germany noting that when his honeybees had been on poppies, they had trouble finding the entrance to their hive! Hoverflies also really like poppies.
Corn Chamomile
As the name suggests, this wildflower has yellow and white chamomile-like flowers. Common in fields, meadows and grassland.
Latin name – anthemis arvensis
Height – 40 cm
Hardy annual
Habitat – sunny
Flowering time – May to September
Corn Chamomile provide nectar for butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects.
