“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”
Lady Bird Johnson
Planting has always been pretty much hit or miss around here. Only a few flowerbeds are fantastic with perennials coming back year after year. Otherwise, when you live in the Prairie where cactus and bodock (bois d’arc) abound, you have your work cut out for you.
There are three beds where I’ve unsuccessfully nursed a variety of flora. In these places the Wildseed Farms catalog says do not plant. In one bed two rosemary bushes grow about the size of a bucket, whereas Prairie neighbor Robin Tait’s rosemary bushes are the size of a small SUV.
To complement my rosemary bushes I’ve taken Alan Smith’s, of Smith Landscaping, advice and added rocks which are sufficiently attractive. “Rocks don’t require water,” Alan says. And I would add: They don’t die, and the deer don’t eat them.
In preparation of new wildflower beds, I’ve studied the Wildseed Farms catalog’s step-by-step instructions which begin with “Placement and a Good Start.”
The first instruction is not to choose a site that is naturally void of plants, including unwanted weeds. Such a site is not likely to support wildflowers. Rainfall or supplemental watering need be available. A minimum of eight hours of sunlight is crucial. Providing good drainage and loose soil is optimal.
The water well is nearby the raised beds, the area is sunny most days and, with the new cultivator and additional soil and peat moss, the beds should perform well.
Next are instructions on how to plant the wildflower seeds. Explicit instructions are essential for me. I need instructions, preferably with diagrams.
The instructions suggest not choosing a site that is too moist, thus promoting weed growth and perhaps washing away the seed. An herbicide may be used, but that is optional. If cultivated or mowed, move away all the clippings and other materials.
The surface soil is to be lightly raked to a depth of 1 inch. Masonry sand, perlite, potting soil or other can be added to the seed to increase volume and aid in even distribution. The folks recommend up to four parts added material to one part seed.
The Tait neighbors have a sand pile; perhaps that is why Robin’s flowerbeds always grow well and look so lovely.
Now, for actually dispersing the seed. Half the seed is broadcast as uniformly as possible over the flowerbed area. The other part is sowed in a perpendicular direction. Never have I done such a methodical seeding. This is way more controlled than my unsuccessful helter-skelter tossing.
The seed should not be buried but only pressed lightly by walking over or rolling the newly-planted area. The catalog suggests some seed may remain visible, but none of the seed should be planted deeper than 1/16 of an inch.
There is a strong warning not to plant wildflowers where clover or winter grasses like rye or fescues grow. These grasses are more aggressive than the wildflowers will be.
And so, soon the seed will be sown — and then the waiting.
Shannon Bardwell’s column appears in The Dispatch on Mondays. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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