Tufted Vetch- Vicia cracca is one of the most showy of all wild meadow plants. The curled flowers appear relatively late in the season and form eye catching patches of purple-blue in hedgerows and meadow grass from the end of June. In the wild, Tufted Vetch is usually found rambling through meadow grass or climbing up a hedgerow. The climbing nature of this plant can be exploited in the wildflower garden to cover unsightly walls or fences and it is particularly well suited to cottage gardens. Tufted Vetch grows well on moist soils and will tolerate full sun or semi- shade. Its seeds are contained in pods that turn black and curl open after ripening, in late summer. Plants host a wide range of insect life such as Bees, Butterflies and Ladybirds. In the wild, Tufted Vetch is also an important food plant for breeding butterflies such as the Wood White and Short-tailed blue all of which, will lay their eggs on the plant. Tufted Vetch plants look best grown alongside other summer flowering wildflowers such as Oxeye daisy, Black Knapweed, Greater Knapweed, Small Scabious, and Field Scabious and Birdsfoot trefoil.