 This
Spring Take a Walk on the ‘Wildflower’ Side
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- (ARA) - Springtime. Time to
start thinking about your flower beds and curb appeal. If you're
tired of the same old annuals, or too many choices leave you
bewildered where to begin, this spring consider thinking outside
the planting box. Plant wildflowers. Lots of them.
In a world dominated by red geraniums,
pink begonias and yellow marigolds, wildflowers possess a simple
grace and elegance that will enhance any garden or landscape.
Wildflowers can magically transform a bare patch of soil into
a glorious garden. They constantly color your landscape all season
long. No matter your soil or sunshine, wildflowers are the answer
to beautiful, bountiful blooms that keep the garden alive with
a continual dazzling display of color.
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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.
Wherever you live, choose a location
that gets six to eight hours of full sun and has good drainage.
Most wildflowers can grow in heavy clay or less than fertile
soils. The key to growing a hearty wildflower patch is to start
with a good seedbed. |
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* Remove any existing weeds or grasses.
* Till the top 1 to 2 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.
If you'd like to try your hand
at growing wildflowers, you need to start with good seeds and
the right mix for your geographical location. Ousidepride.com
has done all the work for you offering a wide variety of wildflower
seed mixes created specifically for your geographical region:
Remember, a good wildflower mix contains both annuals and perennials.
This gives the garden a wider variety of colors, heights and
season-long blooms.
The Gulf Coast areas have special
environmental conditions that makes this blend especially well
suited for its conditions. This mix consists of perennials and
annuals that adapt to moist conditions and tolerate rainfall
as well as sunny conditions and extreme temperatures.
Midwestern Wildflower Mix is
made up of 26 species chosen for their lasting blooms as well
as their rugged ability to withstand the extreme temperatures
of the Midwestern climates. The mix is approximately 50 percent
annual and 50 percent perennial wildflowers.
Northeastern Wildflower Mix is
designed specifically for the special needs of the Northeast.
This attractive wildflower mix is made up of 19 species of which
one third are annuals and the remaining are biennials or perennials.
Southwest Wildflower Mix is specifically
designed for areas which have special needs, such as long, hot,
dry summers or other similar conditions. This mix will do very
well if planted in early to late spring, or as a dormant seeding
in fall. The mix consists of annual and perennials.
Most people know a gardening
guru-type, but the majority of gardeners are admittedly shy to
try new plants, or blame themselves for less than stellar results.
Wildflowers will change that and give gardeners fabulous flowers
that get great results with minimum maintenance or fuss. This
spring is the time to go "wild" right in your own back
yard. |
