Today’s Garden Ideas

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If you are thinking about growing a wildflower garden do not be fooled by all those seed companies promoting wildflowers in a can or roll. Chances are you will not be very successful going this rout. Nor, can you just simply scatter wildflower seeds and believe you will end up with a wildflower meadow. Actually you will need to put in a lot more work to end up with beautiful wildflowers in your garden.

What Are Wildflowers?

Lets start at the beginning. What are wildflowers? They are plant species that are very hardy and are able to reproduce without any effort by the gardener. They do not have to be native to the area you live. Rather they could have been introduced to your environment artificially. Much like Johnny Appleseed and the apple tree. What is nice about wildflowers is they cost little to grow and are able to thrive in poor soil and with little or no attention.

Planning You Wildflower Garden

The garden grown wildflower landscape does require some serious planning to achieve that “helter skelter flowers strewn everywhere wildflower meadow” look.

To begin most wildflowers are partial to the sun. Chose a wildflower garden spot that has partial to full sun.

You will also need a successful weed control program down the road, as weeds are the wildflowers greatest enemy. Prep you soil by getting rid of all weeds. An herbicide might be an effective method of treatment. Your next step will be to till the soil 4 inches. Treat again with the herbicide just to be on the safe side as tilling could dredge up weeds that were lying under the soil surface. You then want to level the soil. Using a rake to do this will leave grooves that will hold the wildflower seeds.

You next step is to decide what wildflower plants you want in your wildflower garden. A wildflower seed mix is a good choice as it will provide variety and make your wildflower garden look like a true wildflower meadow.

Planting and Maintenance

Spread your wildflower seeds over your prepared area. Wildflower seeds are very small so mixing them in with sand might make spreading the seed easier. Once you have spread the wildflower seeds water thoroughly and keep the soil moist until the plants are about 3 inches tall. To keep birds from eating the seeds lightly mulch with straw or peat. In about 15-20 days you should see wildflower seedlings begin to grow and flowers bloom in about 4-6 weeks.

If you are worried about cultivating a whole garden of wildflowers you can still intersperse them amongst your formal garden plants. For example for a taste of yellow wildflowers try planting some Black-eyed Susan or Heliopsis amongst your Marigolds. Or if red is your color Shirley Poppies look brilliant against some evergreen plants. Don’t be afraid to experiment. If one wildflower does not seem to be growing to its full potential switch it out for another.

PLANTS FOR A BED OF WILDFLOWERS
TYPE	PLANT	DESCRIPTION
	Delphinium	H: 3-5ft., S: 2ft; summer-blooming spikes covered with thick rows of 3-4in white, blue, red, pink or purple flowers; zones 2-9
	Evening Primrose (Oenothea Tetragona)	H: 18-24in., S: 18in; fragrant, yellow, cup-shaped, mid-summer flowers on long, reddish green stems; zones 5-9
	Dianthus	H: 12-18in., S: 9-12in; a profusion of white, red or pink blooms in spring or summer, sometimes blooming until first frost; zones 4-8
	Daylily	H: 3ft., S: 2.5ft; orange, white or gold flowers in mid to late summer; blooms last a day; zones 3-9
	Blanket Flower	H: 24in., S: 20in; Daisy-like, yellow or bronze flowers with red centers in summer; long-lasting blooms; zones 4-8
	Bellflower	H: 3ft., S: 1ft; bell-shaped, white, blue or pink flowers on slender spikes furing the summer; zones 4-8
	Coreopsis Lanceolata	H: 18in, S: 12in; Daisy-like, bright yellow blossoms with dark yellow centers on long, branching stems; blooms all summer; zones 4-9
	Foxglove	H: 3-5ft., S: 2ft; tall spikes of tubular flowers in pink, red, purple, or white; tolerant of light shade; zones 4-8