A wildflower garden isn't for everyone but may add something
unique to your landscape. Most wildflowers are not hard to grow once you
understand their nature. You could start a wildflower bed two different ways:
1) buying plants or seeds from commercial growers; 2) getting them from their
native sites. Remember that many are protected by law and cannot be gathered
from native sites unless construction projects will be uprooting them.
Great care must be taken when digging wildflowers or they
will not survive. A lot of wildflower species have been depleted due to
careless uprooting. Your best bet is to purchase hardy wildflowers from a
nursery. Nursery-grown plants are generally better suited to your garden than
those dug up in the wild.
Success rides planting wildflowers in the same conditions
under which they grow naturally. For instance, marsh marigolds, swamp iris, and
cattails like boggy conditions. Arbutus, goldenrod, most asters, and daisies,
and black-eyed Susans like poor, dry soil. Do not try to grow woodsy shade
lovers in the sun. Do not plant sun lovers in the shade and observe the
conditions around your home before you try to start a wildflower garden.
A lot of wildflowers like shade and humusy soil. The north
side of the house where few tame flowers would grow can be turned into a
wildflower bed if the soil is prepared to resemble conditions where
shade-loving plants are grown by nature.
Study wildflower catalogs and reference books before
planting. Flowers that grow naturally in wooded areas love generous amounts of
humus in the soil, and moisture in hot weather.
Spring is perhaps the best time to start a wildflower
garden, although some plants can be moved during fall. Success rate is high
when moving early-flowering species like Dutchman's Breeches in fall. The
secret is to maintain the soil moist after transplanting, particularly during a
dry fall.
Warning! Be careful about putting wildflowers to your front lawn. Some neighbors may object to the "no one lives here look" of a
wildflower front yard, and city officials occasionally frown upon wildflower
yards and have passed ordinances forbidding them.
© 2012 Athena Goodlight