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Wildflower Garden

Seasoned Gardener : Episode SGN-113 -- More Projects »

If you enjoy the beauty of a wildflower garden, why not create one in your yard--or simply add wildflowers to your perennial beds. They're a great solution for areas of the yard that are difficult to mow or water.

Wildflowers can help to prevent weed growth in problem areas.

When planting on slopes, use a wildflower mat so that the seeds won't wash away in heavy rain. When the roots take hold, they'll prevent erosion of the slope.

Want a low-maintenance garden that features an abundance of flowers? Wildflowers are native plants that grow with little gardening assistance and return year after year. They can be found in practically every surrounding natural landscape from fields to roadsides to forest preserves. With a little preparation, you can bring their special beauty and benefits into your own yard or garden.

Wildflower gardens are gaining popularity for a variety of reasons:

They require little maintenance. Native plants are already well suited to your location.
Wildflowers offer a diversity of unusual foliage shapes and sizes and colorful blooms.
They can be grown in hard-to-maintain areas--corners, along fences, slopes that are difficult to mow or water.
Wildflowers attract a number of garden-friendly visitors, such as birds and butterflies.

Although many people plant wildflower seeds in the fall, they can be successfully planted in spring and summer in nearly every region of the country. When to plant depends on the weather patterns where you live.

Wherever you live, choose a location that gets 6 to 8 hours of full sun and has good drainage. Most wildflowers can grow in heavy clay or less than fertile soils. They won't do well in wet conditions. The key to growing a hearty wildflower patch is to start with a good seedbed.

Remove any existing weeds or grasses. Mow any tall weeds with the mower on the highest setting. For low-growing grasses and weeds, use a non-selective herbicide like glyphosate. Be sure to follow the instructions on the product label.
Till the top one to two inches of soil. Tilling deeper than that will stir up thousands of dormant weed seeds and the wildflowers will struggle to get established.
When planting wildflower seeds in a new garden area, don't fertilize. Unless your soil is extremely sandy, wildflowers don't need fertilizer. They are used to growing in average soils.

To determine the amount of seed you need for your garden, measure the area's length and width and multiply them to get the total square footage. Wildflower seed mixes should be sown at a rate of one pound per 2,000 square feet. If you want a thicker initial stand, plant at a rate of one pound per 1,500 square feet.

There are several ways to buy wildflower seeds:

Prepackaged cans, sometimes called "shaker mixes," are available at garden centers, from mail-order seed companies and on the internet. The mixes come with a wide variety of wildflowers and an inert filler that helps to spread the seeds evenly. The different types of flowers are listed on the label, so you know exactly what you're planting.
Seed mixes are also sold in bulk, usually by the pound.
You can purchase wildflower seeds in individual packages and create your own mix. County extension agencies are an excellent resource for information about the types of wildflowers that grow in your region.
A great choice for a small area is a wildflower mat. The seeds are woven into a biodegradable blanket that you place on the ground, cover with soil and water.

Whatever method you choose, a good wildflower mix contains both annuals and perennials. This gives the garden a wider variety of colors, heights and season-long blooms. Be sure to select a mix suited to your region. Companies prepare mixes based on geographic location and not hardiness zones. Each mix is a blend of seeds that are native to a specific region.

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D

There are some flowers that are included in several mixes because they're attractive and hardy in many regions.

Purple coneflower (figure A) is native to the eastern United States and is hardy in Zones 3-8. This long-lived perennial grows to 3 feet tall and blooms in early to mid-summer.
The daisy-like coreopsis grows wild along roadsides and in grassy fields in temperate zones. It grows 1 to 2 feet tall and blooms in mid-summer. This flower grows well in dry, sandy soils.
California poppy (figure B) is seen in open, dry grasslands along the Pacific coast. The bright, cup-shaped flowers bloom in early summer.
Blanket flower (figure C) is also native to the western United States. It's hardy in all zones and does well in hot areas with dry soil.
The New England aster (figure D) is native to the Northeast. It's hardy in Zones 4-8 and blooms in late summer through fall.

If your wildflower mix doesn't contain any inert material, mix in a filler of vermiculite or sand before you sow the seeds. The seeds are hard to see on the soil and the filler helps to identify where the seeds have landed. The recommended ratio is 1 part seed to 4 parts filler.

Figure E

Figure F

Figure G

Figure H

There are a couple of different ways to sow seeds. A drop seeder (figure E) drops the seeds out of a row of holes along the bottom of the container. These are good for sowing seeds in windy locations. This seeder tends to create long, straight rows of plants, though.

A broadcast seeder has a little propeller that scatters seeds in all directions (figure F). Just fill it, turn the crank and start walking. To ensure even coverage, broadcast half the seeds using an even, sweeping motion. Sow the other half of the seeds by walking back across the seedbed at right angles to the original path you took.

To germinate properly, wildflower seeds need to be in contact with the soil:

For small areas, gently rake the seeds into the soil (figure G). Don't cover the seeds with a heavy layer of soil; they won't germinate if buried too deep. Just be sure the seeds are in direct contact with the soil.

For large areas, drag the soil with a wide, flexible steel mat or a section of chain-link fence.

A lawn roller (figure H) is an excellent tool for ensuring good seed-to-soil contact. It's a large cylinder that you fill with water and push over the seed bed. This method works especially well on light, sandy soils because it firms the soil around the seed and prevents moisture loss during germination. A word of caution--don't roll an area if the soil is wet. The soil will compact and that could prevent germination. Wait until the soil is dry before you plant.

After your seeds are worked into the soil, gently water the entire area. It is critical to keep the seedbed moist during the first 4 to 6 weeks after planting. If there's not enough rainfall, you may need to water the seeds every day. Once the seedlings are up and growing, you can cut back on watering and let Mother Nature take over.

Although wildflower gardens are nearly maintenance-free, there are a few things you need to do to keep them healthy.

Until the wildflowers become established and start to bloom, your patch may look like a weed garden. Be patient, resist the temptation to pull weeds out of a young wildflower prairie. You could damage or uproot nearby seedlings or you might pull a flower instead of a weed. Once the wildflowers are established, they'll choke out most of the weeds.
During the first couple of years after planting, weeds will grow quickly. Cut back weeds with a string trimmer if they reach a height of 8 to 12 inches. If they get any taller, they'll shade out the wildflower seedlings. During the first year, you may need to trim weeds once a month. Most native wildflowers and grasses don't grow taller than 6 inches in the first year after planting, so anything taller is most likely a weed.
Give the garden an extra boost at the end of each growing season by leaving the mature blossoms alone until they have gone to seed. Then mow the entire area to help disperse the seeds so they'll germinate next season. This also gives the area a neater appearance when things start growing again in spring.
Wildflowers don't need fertilizer to grow. They are used to growing in ordinary soil in the wild. If you do fertilize an established wildflower garden, you are providing a great meal for existing weeds, helping them grow instead.
It's a good idea to lightly reseed the area every other spring with the original wildflower mixture. This will keep the dominant species from taking over the garden . Reseed any bare areas caused by weeding or plant dieback.

The key to wildflower gardening is patience. It will take a few years for the garden to become established. Once it is, you'll have beautiful, maintenance-free flowers year after year.

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