ROAD rules
We’re keen for folks to follow our lead and enjoy what grows naturally in and around where we live and visit. Before you pick any flowers you haven’t grown yourself or found on private land, there are a few rules to observe. Here's a handy guide to which flowers you can and can't pick and where.
Cultivated flowers
Flowers growing in parks are legally off-limits; the same goes for council-maintained displays on roundabouts or verges, any gardens planted by a particular organisation or business (i.e. community gardens), and nature reserves or protected land. Also, it should go without saying that you are not permitted to take anything from anyone's garden, even your neighbour - you could face prosecution for theft and the sharp end of their tongue.
Wildflowers
According to Dominic Price of wild plant protection charity Plantlife, "It is not normally an offence to pick the 'Four Fs' – fruit, foliage, fungi or flowers – if the plants are growing wild and it is for your personal use and not for sale." However, dozens of rare or endangered plants – from the lady's slipper orchid and adder's tongue to thread moss and sandwort – are protected under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. In reality, you're unlikely to stumble across too many of them, and we advise you to become familiar with what they look like. Whatever you do, don't drag up the whole plant to resettle it in your garden – the law firmly forbids the uprooting of any wild plant.
roadside rules
1. You should only pick one flower for every 20 in the patch. If there are fewer than 20, leave them alone.
2. Don't disturb wildlife in the area.
3. Pick flowers that are not privately owned or critically endangered.
4. Never pick flowers in public parks, community gardens, or on National Trust property or nature reserves.
5. Never pull the wildflowers by their roots, as this will mean they will no longer return the following year. If you do pick the flowers, ensure you leave a substantial amount of the plant to allow it to continue to grow.
