Wild Flower Garden
You can create a Wild Flower Garden in a small backyard filled with tubs, a medium sized garden, or have acres in which to create a luxurious wild flower meadow.
Creating wild flower meadows and gardens is a complete joy for those who have the privilege to so do... they will also be a haven for all the many and various 'fauna' who will come to either visit... or to take up permanent residence.
Your smallest visitors to your wild flower garden will be the insects, like ladybirds and bees... and who knows what your largest visitors will be! They should all provide fascination, education and delight to all! Even a backyard with just tubs can support more than you can ever imagine. A water feature, no matter how small, even a half barrel will add an extra dimension to the garden and support wildlife. My daughter has a cat who will insist on bringing back live frogs late at night... if it is too late to take them to someone elses pond down the road they have to go into her half barrel! She never knows how many are there... as you don't know if he just catches a few unlucky frogs numerous times, or if they are different ones every time. [He became a 'father' this spring... LOTS of frog spawn! It was duly taken to an out-of-town wildlife pond!] I digress. But, it just goes to show what unexpected joys a wild flower garden or partly wild garden can bring.
A mention first about annual wild flowers, for example Poppies, Cornflowers and Corn Marigolds ... they need freshly dug soil in which to germinate so they will not be a permanent feature in a natural wild flower meadow type garden. It is best to buy a cornfield mixture and plant the mixture afresh each year [as they are strictly annuals which need newly tilled earth]. Then you can have a separate area in which to create your meadow with the perennial plants and grasses. It is possible to make your own wild flower garden flower mix up for yourself, choosing plants for a certain color scheme. You could choose pinks and purple for example, using pink clover and knapweed, or go for white... again you could use clover and various daisies. If you are making freshly tilled flower beds in which perennial and annual flowers can flourish together, and you want poppies... just sow fresh Poppy seeds each year into a freshly dug patch of earth in your wild flower garden and especially set aside for them. Alternatively you can harvest a few Poppy heads and grow the seeds in flower pots, then plant the seedlings out exactly where you want them to flower within your wild flower gardens. There are many books available which explain how to create a wild flower garden, meadow and/or pond, if you try any of the new books on wildflower meadow gardening you will not be disappointed.
Please visit our Books... Choosing Books page for a greater choice from several different sources of books; with new, second hand, hard to find, and out-of-print books available... a really superb selection! Can I recommend a book published by 'Guild of Master Craftsman Publications' in 2000 [UK] entitled 'Gardening with WILD PLANTS' by Julian Slatcher... the photographs are superb. The book has been in the bookstores at both Kew and Wisley. (OK, hands up, I admit it... there is a special reason for the recommendation... it is by my son! He is also having a new book published soon on Seaside Gardening... I don't know the finalised title yet.)
The link above takes you to a brilliant 'new to me' resource... it is SO useful! You can find virtually any book using it, and have best prices, availability, etcetera, all sorted for your convenience!
if you want to create ANY garden.
In order to create a wild flower meadow there is only one important consideration! Preparation. Preparation. And still more... preparation! First, what type of soil you have. Second, the aspect of the garden. Then wet and dry areas. Shade, partial shade, or full sun. Try and visit some wild flower gardens in your area, see what aspects they have in common with your garden, and check out which wild flowers grow well for them. Next you must decide what you would like changed within your area and check out if it is at all feasible. You will be able to landscape an area with mechanical aids... for example, if you want to create a bank. You will also be able to dig out a pond, but please don't try to put it in the dry area and want to dry out the wet area! That would be going too far. Take note of any trees and the shaded areas they create, you could get some woodland species growing. Then decide the shape of the wild flower garden and what naturally looks best. Imagine their areas, and where you would like to have any pathways... if you decide just to have mown paths within the meadow they are very easy to maintain when you walk round to enjoy your flowers, you just push the mower in front of you! It makes it extremely easy to walk round and enjoy your meadow. A very good idea is to mark out your proposed paths with sharp sand, if you decide to change your design just rake it in and start again! When all the studying is done and the mechanical preparation finished, the soil then needs to be prepared as if you were going to lay a lawn, but without the fertiliser. Just imagine how your wild flower garden will look and how beautiful it will be in a very short time. You can purchase flower seed complete with grass seed, the two mixed in the correct proportions. Most lawns have a great deal of rye grass in these days and it is too strong a grass and competes with the wild flowers and suffocates them. The correct type of grass is vitally important. Also, please remember when you do mow your entire area... you MUST clear away ALL the resultant mowings... if left in situ, they would feed the area... AND THAT YOU MUST AVOID AT ALL COSTS! If you already have an area with wild flowers in and you just wish to increase numbers, it is possible to do this in one of two ways. First you could buy 'plug' plants and put them in, either one at a time, or in clumps. It is possible to get plugs which are suitable for sunny areas, shady ones, boggy parts of the garden, or specifically to attract butterflies. Alternatively, it is now possible to buy what are called 'seed mats' which come in various sizes. You need to prepare a flat weed free area and place the mat there and keep it moist. You could divide the mat into pieces and put where required. Whichever options you choose I hope your wild flower garden and gardening will bring you much joy and fulfillment!
Further details of our wildflower seeds suppliers will be found on the Wild Flower Seeds page, but for your convenience as a quick reference, they are detailed below... in our wild flower garden page.
CROCUS ..... [Not only is 'Crocus' a Garden Writers Guild website of the year winner, jam packed with everything to do with flowers and gardening, but also, from the site you can register for Alan Titchmarsh's Garden Care Tips e-mails! Charlie features on the site too!] Next [in a strictly alphabetical order] is the best site for strictly American Seeds... Buy Wildflower Seeds Online And last, but definitely not least, for seeds for your wild flower garden, comes... Thompson & Morgan
Why do I recommend T & M? Because they are totally reliable, and always, in my dealings with them, they have managed to over-deliver! 'Old fashioned' attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile seems to be their trademark. Why not give them a try? They always seem to be the ones who can supply unusual items, or any items really, which the local garden centres don't have... they always pack their parcels extremely well, and, as I said above... they over-deliver! If you are lucky enough to have an area with trees in your wild flower garden which is suitable for bluebells... please (as mentioned elsewhere on this site) don't use the Spanish Squill as it can interbreed with our native bluebells. And it goes without saying not to dig up wild bluebells! The thing to do is to contact the link above to Thompson & Morgan who supply (at the correct time of year) both seeds and bulbs of our beautiful proper native bluebells.
An EXTRA... The link below has migrated from the 'Wedding Favors' page! These delightful little gifts are ideal for garden lovers. Why not click the link and see for yourself?
Tree seeds for your wild flower garden... USA only, sorry!
Gardening
Another interesting website to visit is 'flowers and butterflies', with flower and garden articles, plus much, much, more... just click the link below to visit...
Flowers&Butterflies
If you need help with landscaping and design for any garden (including your wild flower garden) try visiting the following recommendation. "Numerous free landscaping ideas,
information and resources are offered at landscaping-ideas.net. Get gardening
and landscaping ideas on designing the perfect landscape for you and your
family."
Landscaping Ideas
Click: www.morsenursery.com
SBI ... Sitesell Please do find time to read the fascinating write-up below (just click the link)... you will find out all you need to know, in a very short space of time. Makes riveting reading too! If YOU have a special dream, I know Sitesell can make it happen. This 'Flower Garden Wild' webpage is brought to you courtesy of SBI, without which this website would be a figment of my imagination... a dream!
With Site Build It! you, too, could build a website like this... and with no previous knowledge! Why not click the above link to check it out? You can't lose... well only a few seconds of your time... and it could put you on your way to making your fortune! It's such a fascinating journey. I'm loving every minute and looking forward to starting on my next site soon... and with more or less NO previous knowledge! And, if you are worried about the actual writing... just go to the annoying little link which keeps on popping up all over the place...
Sitesell ..... MYCPS
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