Sow a Bit of Wilderness in your Garden

Imagine looking out your window to see a miniature meadow, filled with bright wildflowers, birds swooping and hovering and perhaps a small animal or two peeping out. You do not even have to mow the grass anymore.

You can transform your lawn or garden - or a portion of it - into such a naturalized setting, chiefly by adding wildflowers. Wildflowers bring color, simplicity and animal life to your property. They can make a yard or garden truly unique, yet they require little care once established.

There are basically two ways to use wildflowers. You can create a ‘wild garden, or you can “naturalize” your lawn with them.

A wild garden is defined as ‘an area of land planted in a naturalistic manner and including both native and exotic (foreign) plants. These are often borders or beds of flowers and grasses that surround a patch of lawn or a patio. In a true wildflower garden or patch, there should not be any domestic’ plants. These include hybrids with double flowers or variegated foliage. A variation of the wildflower garden is to intersperse wildflowers with your ‘domestics”. Naturalizing the yard requires more planning and work to establish and is a relatively new gardening trend. The naturalistic yard first started popping up in the late 60’s and early 70’s with the conversation movement. People began converting vast areas of lawn into wildflower havens, If you hate to mow the grass, a naturalized lawn might be perfect for you. Some good places to consider for a naturalized lawn would be in the hazardous-to-mow locations or unpleasant mowing areas of your yard. These may include drainage ditches, steep slopes or fence lines. A naturalized lawn or garden will encourage small animals and birds to visit your yard.

However you choose to use wildflowers, you can purchase the seed for them at your Johnson’s garden center. Commercial wildflower seeds have the advantage of better germination and produce better quality plants. Furthermore, you will have cultivation instructions on the package relieving you of the guesswork about unfamiliar plants. The packet containing more than one variety of seeds will be mixed in correct proportions.

Do not forage for wildflowers in parks or along roadsides. It is illegal and you could be depleting nature for successive seasons. In addition, there is a chance of introducing unwanted plants into your property.

Having wildflowers in your garden or your whole yard can be a fun and interesting hobby. These plants won’t require a lot of care, but will grow and develop into beautiful flowers, encouraging animals and birds to your yard and, they will give your property a bit of distinction from that of your neighbors.

  

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