Planting a wildflower meadow garden is a project that appeals to a lot of folks simply because they look good and require very little maintenance. Also, a wide assortment of flowers, grasses and plants can be grown together without any rigid specific design. This can be a simple way to create a surprisingly beautiful garden that is also very environmentally friendly. The blooms are colorful and plentiful so they provide a much appreciated, natural habitat for birds, butterflies and many other critters.
While being an ideal garden style for some locations, a wild meadow garden may seem like clutter to some folks. So there may be some things you should consider before creating one of your own.
If planting a wildflower meadow garden appeals to you because of no maintenance, you might want to reconsider. First, there ain't no such thing as a no maintenance landscape or garden. It would be nice if it was so easy but all gardens need some maintenance. Wildflower meadow gardens only need a small amount of upkeep. However, you still have to watch out for weeds and keep the garden tidy.
Every year, people scatter handfuls of seeds on the ground in hopes of watching vast numbers of colorful flowers appear. While nature is constantly scattering seeds, many billions of seeds, you still don't see wildflower meadows sprouting in every nook and cranny. Wildflower meadows are a little more involved than "Sow and Grow". You can purchase pre-mixed bags of wildflower seeds but they cannot just be scattered about with no thought or care involved. Like all gardens, planting a wildflower meadow garden should be planned and prepared in detail.
Begin with the Right Site. Look around your yard and find the best location for your new garden. A wildflower garden will need 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. An area with some ventilation and air movement can be a good thing. The breezes actually make the stems of the plants stronger, and plant borne diseases are less likely to occur. If you have a field or a plot of ground that has already been cultivated, you have an ideal setting for a wildflower meadow garden.
Placement is an important consideration. The informal look of a wildflower meadow garden looks too awkward when it is placed near a formal garden and may seem out of place if your other neighbors have well manicured lawns and more structured garden sites.
You want to choose the plants that are known for longer blooming periods. It is also important to select seeds and plants that are capable of dealing with the types of conditions you are subjecting them to. Try to include a wide and diverse variety of plants, just as you would see growing in a natural meadow. Combine graceful grasses with wildflowers and other grass like plants.
For lower covering of the ground, consider planting a wildflower meadow garden with plants like clover and violets. To bring color and texture that is of mid height you might want to include some bright orange or red butterfly weed, vibrant Black-eyed Susans, long blooming smooth asters and some delicate goldenrod. To add some additional height and visual appeal there are native coneflowers, wild indigo, lupine, and bee balm that you can use.
* It is best to try for a random pattern with these plants, which is the way they would appear in a natural meadow garden. You want to combine species that have different root structures; tap roots, surface roots, and deep fibrous root runners. Examples for tap roots are Butterfly Weed, Wild Indigo, and Carolina Lupine. For surface roots-Birdfoot Violets, Black-eyed Susans, and Bee Balm. And for deep Fibrous Root Runners you can use Little Bluestem, Showy Goldenrod, Smooth Aster
* Make sure that you have several plant species that can "fix" extra nitrogen into the soil. Some examples are plants that are members of the legume family. Lupines, Indigo, and clover are easy to grow selections that meet this requirement.
* You also want to have different plants that can stabilize over different periods of time. Hyssop, Sages and Black-eyed Susans will establish themselves the first year. Coneflowers, some native lilies, and Bee Balm will take at least 2 years for stabilization to occur. It usually takes a bit longer for plants such as the Compass plant, Indigo and Blazing Star to become fully acclimated.
