Looking for a way to add some natural beauty to your backyard garden? Wildflowers are beautiful flowers that are naturally found in the wild, and can add a burst of colour to any garden. Many people believe that wildflowers don’t need work or care, but that is not the case for these flowers. To ensure the best outcome for your wildflower garden, taking the time to properly plant these beautiful flowers will allow you to see the best end results.
The best time to grow wildflowers is in the spring or summer when the weather is warm and there is lots of sun.
How to grow wildflowers?
- Pick a good place to grow the wildflowers, where they can get lots of sunlight.
- Prepare the soil by removing weeds, raking the soil and mowing the lawn around the grow area.
- Purchase some seeds and if you mix the seeds with sand, it will make it easier to spread the seeds and help ensure they spread evenly throughout.
- Gently rake the soil after you plant the seeds to make sure they are covered in soil.
- Water the area well so that the soil is moist.
- Make sure that you keep watering the soil well until you are able to see some growth that is a few inches tall. After that they will start to grow on their own.
Why grow wildflowers?
- They are very low cost flowers, but they will still bring lots of colour and beauty to your garden.
- If you also plant vegetables, wildflowers attract pollinators like bees and butterflies which are good for your garden.
- If you are looking at creating a cottage garden, wildflowers are full of an eclectic variety that will add a beautiful burst of color.
What type of wildflowers should I get?
Picking the right wildflowers for your garden can be difficult. It is important to keep in mind your needs and the flowers’ needs and the growing season in your region.
These are a few of my favourites:
- New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae): This flower comes in purple, pink or white and they need full sun and well-draining soil with compost.
- Queen Anne’s Lace Wildflower (Daucus carota): These flowers are white with a black centre and they need some sun to partial shade and mildly alkaline soil.
- Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria): These flowers are a beautiful yellow colour with a red centre and they need full sun, with dry or shallow-rocky soil.
- Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis): This flower can be found in a rich red, or white, and it needs full to partial sun and medium to wet soil.
Each flower has different needs in terms of how much water and sun they need, and what kind of soil will help them grow best. Learning about which wildflowers will grow best in your garden will help ensure the best end results.
