Wildflower Garden - Growing Wildflowers - What Wild Flowers To
Grow
Call of the
Wild (Flowers)
At a time when “green” is the color of thoughtful lifestyles, gardening
practices are going greener, too. Some
gardens awash in the biggest, brightest, newest flowers are sadly lifeless, lacking the buzz of the bees, the
fluttering of butterflies and the zip of hummingbirds. To make these creatures welcome, gardeners need to go a
little wild themselves, setting aside their visions of gardens groomed and sprayed into submission. The
solution is a wildflower garden.
Gardeners need to re-imagine their gardens as an outdoor café wildflower garden and
build safe havens for birds, bees and butterflies. How? By setting the table with nectar and
seeds that are on the menus of local wildlife. This spring, plant a patch of wildflowers and watch the garden
come alive.
Wildflowers and their dependents -- insects and birds -- work
together in harmony with local climates. Naturally adapted to soil, sun and moisture conditions, wildflowers
offer more than simple grace and unaffected charm.
They represent an
earth-friendly, attractive alternative, thriving without fertilizers, pesticides and
constant irrigation.
In nature, wildflowers mark the seasons with glorious bursts of
color. Spring bluebells and columbines might give way to yarrows and rues, which in turn leave
the season’s last word to coneflowers and asters.
The wildflower garden patch is typically an exuberant and
ever-changing continuous carpet of carefree blossoms. Since the look is more relaxed than that
of formal garden beds, wildflowers can beautify areas that are very difficult to maintain -- hillsides,
woodland edges, lake borders or that awkward strip between the driveway and the property line.
While the aim is a casual, unstudied appearance, wildflower gardens do require some
planning. One key is choosing a seed mix created for your region, taking into account the
hardiness zone, elevation and typical soil, sun and moisture conditions.
Wild-flower-seed.com offers a wide variety of blends for nine areas of the
country, from the rainy northeast to the dry southwest. The company also has specialty mixes
specifically designed to attract beneficial insects and butterflies -- as well as a blend deer find
unappealing. Each mix includes 10 to 20 plant species, providing flowers season-  long and a mix of annuals and perennials
for both quick color and staying power.
Site preparation is important and a little up-front
effort can pay big dividends. Follow these steps:
* Choose a sunny, well-drained location for your wildflower garden.
Most wildflowers want six to eight hours of direct sunlight and few will tolerate “wet feet.”
* Remove any sod and till to a depth of just 1 or 2
inches. More will only bring additional weed seeds to the surface.
* Weed control is crucial to get wildflowers off to a good
start. Instead of using a strong, chemical pesticide to kill weeds, manage weeds naturally.
Encourage weeds to grow with regular watering and then pull the weeds before sowing wildflowers, or use a
low-toxicity herbicide.
* Sow seeds according to directions -- the maximum amount
recommended will produce a dense patch, the minimum a more scattered look.
* For easier sowing, mix seed with dry sand, which is more visible
against the soil. Blend well, using a ratio of one part seed to one or two parts sand.
* Good seed-to-soil contact encourages germination. A lawn roller
is ideal, but stepping across the bed, compressing soil underfoot, will do the job.
* No fertilizer is necessary, but
the seedbed should be kept moist for about four weeks until seeds sprout. Then watering can taper off unless
conditions are unusually dry.
Once established, a wildflower garden requires little routine
maintenance. A once-a-year mowing to 4 to 6 inches in late fall will keep tree seedlings from
intruding and spread the season’s crop of seeds.
To see wildflower mixes offered for your region and view details on individual species, visit
www.wild-flower-seed.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
Wild Flower Garden - Growing Wild
Flowers - What Wild Flowers To Grow
Call of the Wild
(Flowers)
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