My daughter used to sow wild flower seeds on roundabouts where she lived which brightened up the place considerably. She did it at night and no-one saw her so why not!

Lovely idea. Who is there to complain except the council. Try asking their permission first and if they say no, do it anyway, at night as Cammomile suggests. I've seen lots of stories in the media of council land being utilised by local people. Your neighbours might like to join in too.

Our Council sowed wild flower seeds,on a very overgrown banking,previously planted by them,which had seen better days..They were mostly dug out,with just a few exceptions..and it was a joy to see last summer,on the approach into town..so I can't see why your council would object..just go for it anyway..They may think the birds have brought them..:o)

It's a lovely idea . . . I'd say 'go for it' and you'll be able to secretly watch the smiling faces when people admire the flowers and wonder how they came there!

We could do a "flash mob" type seed planting one night in Spring all over the country - that would be a sight when the flowers bloomed. I'm up for it!

Brilliant idea Cammomile. As the ground is so rock haard underneath, does any one have any idea about what would work. Last year I tried a few calendula but it is a difficult area to water. Only two survived but they did look pretty.

Across the road from where my sister lives is a triangle of neglected land. She, and a few of the neighbours got together and planted flowers and and shrubs to make it look nice. They all decided it would be a good idea if they could buy the bit of land to carry on doing it legally.

My sisters husband consulted his solicitor to see if he could find out who owned the land. The solicitor asked him how long they had been planting things, when he told him the solicitor said in that case he already owned the land.

Apparently, under English law, if you till some land for more than a certain length of time, (I think he mentioned 12 years) and nobody says anything or claims it, then it becomes yours by default. His solicitor did all the paperwork for a relatively small fee and registered it with the land registry. So now they legally own it.

I might try something like that in say the centre of Hyde Park ;o)

Go for it. What do you have to lose. You remove the soil, improve a derelict area and help the wildlife along the way. Win-win, as far as I can see.

Spare Lupin seeds work well on motorway bankings
so might be easier.

Guerilla gardening....go for it. This sort of thing is very much proactive in all parts of the UK

http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

as a biologist I'd err on the side of caution. only sow natives that would normally grow in the conditions and ecology of the area. by sowing alien species you will upset the balance the the other natives plants and the insects that feed on them. This in turn would affect the other animals that rely on them.

this has happened with garden escapees eg montbretia, one of the rhododendrons, hymalain balsam etc.
the fact people feel they have to do it under the cover of darkness speaks volumes really.

ethically its a no-no. but be sensible in your plant choice if you do decide to do it.

Thank you everyone for your advice. Seaburngirl, has raised issues that troubled me a bit. Recently City of London Corporation removed daffodils that someone had planted in Epping Forest. There was a bit of an outcry in the press but I thought they were quite right. I wonder if native nettles would be the way to go. Any thoughts.

There are plenty of native wildflowers whch would cause no problems at all. Do people walk over the land? just wondering why its so hard. If they do, just plant near to the shrubs. Try foxgloves (not improved garden varieties) and celandines for starters - both very tough cookies amd self seeding. Ox eye daisies might do as well but you might need to put plants in of those - not sure. Poppies would not like the hard ground but might be OK the first year.

Poppies may be a lovely idea as its the 100 year memorial of the 1st world war starting

I think the ground is so hard because it is clay, and for many years children used to play in the bushes. The few shrubs remaining are evergreens so not much falling leaf.

Cannot see anything wrong with scattering a few native seedheads but would not encourage you to take your spare soil, in some areas that would be classed as flytipping which some areas are really getting uptight about and people are being asked to report anybody they see doing this.......

here in dublin the council,s have planted wild flower,s on some roundabouts . it looks fab in the summer , though i think it was for financial reasons as they didn,t need to keep cutting the grass.

Thanks for that Lincslass. I am glad I asked the question and think I will err on the side of caution.