Friday, April 12, 2013

Planting Wildflowers are Beneficial in the Garden

One of the best things about wildflowers is how easy they are to grow!  In case you missed it, we recently posted an article of EDIBLE FLOWERS at Mary's Heirloom Seeds!

Plan
Check for your last frost date and plant after this has passed.
Choose a spot on your property that gets 6 or more hours of direct sun a day.
Prepare your soil be clearing the area of all existing growth. Simply dig up everything that is growing, turn the soil and rake the area flat. If this is an area that has never before been gardened, you may need to till the area up to remove growth.

Plant
Mix the seeds with sand for better visibilty and scatter the seeds directly on top of the soil.
We recommend lighly compressing the seeds into the soil, making sure not to bury them. You can either walk on them, use a board or just pat down with you hands.

Grow
Water so that the soil is moist, not soaking wet, until the seedlings are about 4-6" tall. After that, the seedlings will survive on natural rains. If you are experiencing very dry weather, we recommend watering occassionally.
Spring, summer and fall are all wildflower planting times, depending on your region, your weather, and the way you want to approach establishing your meadow. No matter when or where you plant, site preparation is roughly the same. But the first consideration is not the season; it's your climate.

For mild-winter areas: If you're planting in a warm place such as California, Florida or southern Texas, with minimal — or no — winter frost, you can plant almost anytime, except during your hottest season. Best time is just before your rainiest season begins, and when you know the weather will not be too hot for young seedlings. In Florida, fall is best. In California, most wildflowers are planted during the winter to take advantage of California's greening in early spring.

Nasturtiums
For all areas with killing frost: If you have definite killing frost in winter, things are different. In these areas (most of the country) spring and fall are both fine for planting, and each has its advantages.

Wildflowers can re-seed and continue to grow for many years if planted in an area that will allow them to flourish.  Saving seeds from these wildflowers is easy and will ensure flowers for the future.

Companion Planting with Flowers


Companion planting is based around the idea that certain plants can benefit others when planted next to, or close to one another.

Companion planting exists to benefit certain plants by giving them pest control, naturally without the need to use chemicals, and in some cases they can give a higher crop yield.

Marigolds: Basil, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, gourds, kale, potatoes, squash and tomatoes.  Often called the "workhorse" of pest deterrents.



Bachelor Button: Attracts pollinators to the garden
 
Lavender: cabbage, cauliflower and fruit trees

Nasturtium: cucumbers, melon, squash, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, celery, carrots and radish.  Repels Carrot fly, Japanese beetle, whitefly, aphid and cabbage moth.  


Echinacea Purpurea
Sunflower: Corn, squash and beans.  Attracts pollinators to the garden.

Lupine: nitrogen rich.  Attracts pollinators.  Traps aphids!
Echinacea and Yarrow:  Attracts pollinators to the garden. *Also reported to have medicinal properties*

More great companions include:
I hope you have enjoyed another educational article.  if you have additional questions, please leave a comment below or send an email to mary@marysheirloomseeds.com


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18 comments:

Melody said...

Sounds like you really know your stuff. I have been wanting to learn more about gardening, so I will have to follow! Found you on the "I love my post" bloghop!

Anonymous said...

Here from the blog hop! You are making me wish I lived outside of the city and had a garden. Maybe I can improvise on my little deck :)

Holli said...

Beautiful! What a helpful post for us not-so-green thumbs. I'd love for you to share this at my Spring Bucket List link-up.

Jennifer Hays said...

Hi Mary, your blog is fascinating! I came here through the Meet and Greet. I've just had a quick look around and you have so much useful information. I love gardening and am always looking to learn more. I live in New Mexico where much of my property is xeriscaped but I do plant annuals. I'm following your blog and looking forward to reading along. If you'd like to stop by mine, it's at http://thistlebearhome.blogspot.com :)

Laurie said...

Thanks for linking up with the Meet & Greet Blog Hop! :)

Black Fox Homestead said...

Mine go in this week. Bachelor buttons, sunflowers, nasturtium, and some others. I'm excited!

Unknown said...

Great to read this, I am just starting out gardening and only today i've sowed a packet of mixed wildflowers into one of my flowerbeds. I wasn't sure I had done it properly until I read this :-)

mail4rosey said...

That late frost date just keeps getting later and later where I'm at...we had snow just yesterday!

Thanks for sharing your tips.
I'm visiting today from the Raising Imperfection hop.

Lanaya | Raising Reagan said...

The Lupine are beautiful!!

Thank you for linking to Raising Imperfection.
Please come back Friday to see if you were featured. :)

¤´¨)
¸.•*´
(¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
www.raising-reagan.com

Leslie @ Violet Imperfection said...

I feel like it is never going to be time to plant where I live, stupid winter!

Thank you for linking up to Raising Imperfection!
Make sure to check back on Friday to see if you were featured.
Leslie

Krista said...

What a great post. I am wanting to incorporate more flowers at my house. I am fairly new to gardening but I love the idea of wildflowers! Krista @ A Handful of Everything

Unknown said...

Love all of the information in this post! I love wildflowers and learned a lot tonight!

I am so glad you linked this post to the In and Out of the Kitchen party. I just shared this on facebook and will be pinning it!

Cynthia at http://FeedingBig.com

Anonymous said...

I love growing these same flowers every year

Pary Moppins said...

We love wildflowers and bulbs because they are so beautiful and easy! Plant once, and enjoy from now on. Very economical and user-friendly. :)

Unknown said...

So pretty!

Natasha in Oz said...

Thanks so much for sharing this at the Say G'day Saturday linky party. I just shared this on Google+ and will be pinning it too!

Hope to see you again this Saturday!

Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz

Unknown said...

I love wildflowers! Thank you so much for sharing all the great info with us at a Bouquet of Talent! :)
Have a wonderful weekend.
hugs
Kathy

AngieOuellette-Tower said...

So beautiful! Thank you for sharing on my Themed Blog & Shop Hop.
Angie
godsgrowinggarden.com