Fall is the Time to be Wild About Spring!

Wild about spring wildflowers, that is!   

Wildflower seeds are sown in the fall in order to germinate and grow over the winter and then put on a  show in the spring (at least that's how we do it in Zone 7b/8a).

I got my first batch of wildflower seeds from Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas.  It contained an assortment of seeds...poppies, larkspur, bluebonnets, corn poppy, California poppy, bachelor buttons, and scarlet flax to name several.  After letting them grow and bloom, I decided that there were only a few of them that knocked my socks off, so I saved the seeds from those varieties only.

California poppies, larkspur and, of course, bluebonnets (state flower of Texas!!) stole the show and have been allowed encore performances in my garden ever since.

Then a friend of mine introduced me to her red Somnifera poppies (and I just had to have them in my garden), so I made another addition to the wildflower lineup.

The wildflowers faithfully reseed and bloom among my perennials every spring, starting in late March with the bluebonnets, then the poppies and larkspur in April, blooming all the way through May.

Here are some photos of the wildflower display in my garden each spring. 

  

These are the Somnifera poppies that blomed in my garden this past April.   

In this photo you can see several stages of blooms.  About halfway up toward the right side you can see the bent over bloom bud (they stand upright just before the bloom opens).  There are freshly opened blooms, ones in the process of going to seed, and finally the seed pod.

These are the dried seed pods.  The "sunburst" shaped cap lifts up to reveal a little row of "windows."  When you tip the seed pod on its side, hundreds of tiny seeds pour out like sand.

The poppies are in bloom at the same time as perennial 'Bath's Pink' Dianthus, Irises, and Ox-eye Daisies

Golden California poppies are bright and cheerful at the front of the border.

Larkspur's tall purple/blue, pink, and white spikes put on quite a show!

Spring blooming Coreopsis makes a nice companion.

 Larkspur paired with Red Bor Kale and Pansies 

creates a colorful spring garden at my church.

And what would a Texas garden be without our state flower,
the Bluebonnet!

A spring stroll down the sidewalk becomes a wildflower garden tour :-)   

 Ox-Eye Daisies, Larkspur, and Poppies
mingle for a beautiful spring display of wildflowers.

For success with wildflowers, you will need an area with full sun, preferably at least 6 hours.

Sow the seeds in October.

Scratch the soil and then scatter the seeds, making sure they have good soil contact.   The seeds are very small, so do not cover them with more than 1/4 inch of compost.

Here's a tip for getting better distribution of the seeds:  Mix the seeds with either sand or coffee grounds and then scatter.

Water, and watch them grow.   Be sure to remember where you sowed your seeds because the young wildflower foliage looks suspiciously like a weed.  One time my neighbor, thinking he was being helpful, pulled some wildflower "weeds" for me! 

After the wildflowers finish blooming, they will set seed.  Then you will need to let them go through that "ugly" brown period where the seeds are maturing and drying.  After the seed pods have dried, you can pull the whole plant out of the garden (it won't regrow from the root, only the seed).  Then scatter the seeds back in your garden, or collect them to share with friends.

This fall day, I hope you enjoyed your stroll through my spring garden of wildflowers! 

Toni :-)