Fields of wildflowers never fail to pull at the heart strings; roadsides covered in blooms conjure up a sense of joy, feeling of tranquillity and remind us of the many wonders of nature.
An endearing charm of wildflowers is how such an array of flower colours and types always manage to blend together and look harmonious. Wildflowers are particularly simple to grow.
Numerous wildflower blends are available, with successive sowings you can expect to have a blooming meadow for well over half the year, even longer in some areas. Wildflowers are a good choice for the time poor gardener, as they take very little time or skill to grow.
Wildflowers are a wonderful economical and pretty way to cover up bare spaces of garden or land. Vacant sections, driveways and road frontages lend themselves to wildflower plantings. Many of the flowers in wildflower blends are shallow rooted, meaning they don’t need a deep soil to flourish, making them a good option to cover banks and hillsides.
Once the wildflowers finish flowering, if they are left to their own devices, they readily set seed, and will more than likely germinate again the following season, simply adding to their charm. Save seed from your favourite wildflowers, label and put into envelopes ready for sowing next season.
Tips for Growing Wildflowers
Choose:
- Choose a blend of flowers that suits you.
- Blends range from traditional prairie and road side plantings, mixes for bees and insects, and colour combinations, through to coastal mixtures, seasonal blends and even wild flowers for shady areas.
Prepare:
- Prepare the area by clearing it of weeds, rubbish and unwanted plants.
- If spraying weeds, allow a few weeks for them to die before sowing the seeds.
- Next rake over the top of the soil.
- Scratch the soil surface so there is loose soil for the seeds to work their roots into.
- Water dry areas well at this stage BEFORE sowing seed and blend in Debco Saturaid to help the soil retain moisture
Sow:
- To sow the seed, simply scatter seed evenly over the area, ideally on a fine calm morning.
- As the seed is small, it’s not always necessary to cover the seeds with soil.
- Seed can be lightly raked in if desired, but it’s not essential.
- In smaller areas, sprinkle Tui Seed Raising Mix over the top to cover
Water:
- Water in, being careful not to let the water puddle, as this can cause the seed to float to the surface and clump.
- When watering in try to emulate rain and let the water soak in naturally.
Tui Top Tips:
- Wildflowers are a pretty and functional addition to the veggie garden – they attract bees and other pollinators into the garden.
- Birds are little beggars at eating freshly sown seeds in late winter and spring when there is little else around to eat. Protect germinating wildflowers from birds where possible or supply the birds with another food source such as the lovely Tui wild bird feeders and Wild Bird Seed Mix. Apples nailed to a fence post are also a popular choice.
By Rachel Vogan
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Wild Flowers - Blooming Marvellous! Comments
I plant wild flowers every year. I love them. Last summer it was really good to see baby bumble bees. And really old ones. This year I have planted another 7 packets of wildflowers.
Jacquie Webb
Hi Jacquie, it sounds like you would have a beautiful wildflower garden. We would love to see some photos once this season's flowers are in bloom - you can share them on our facebook page if you would like to. - Gemma (Tui Team)
gemma
I have a shaded area, I have planted a heap of bulbs but would love to have some wild flowers to take up the room inbetween, its quiet shaded what would you recomend I love heaps of colour so these sound perfect. And what sort of cost for seeds.
Lorena Pollock
Hi, i had planted wildflowers for my grandaughter when she was about 5 yrs it was a surprise for her which she so loved. My specialty was the swan plant which bought a cluster of monarch's to the garden. she is now 9 yrs and still speaks over the phone about her beautiful garden Nan made for her. Most of all she recalls the names of some of the pretty flowers, how sweet:)
pat
Hi Pat, what a lovely memory for your grandaughter, that is really sweet :) - Gemma (Tui Team)
gemma
Hi Lorena, if you take a look on the Wild Flower World website mentioned in the above article, there is a wildflower seed mix called 'made for shade' (find it by searching 'made for shade' on their website) that sounds like it could be perfect for you! They start at $11.00. Alternatively if you go to your local garden centre they will have packets of wildflower seed mix starting around $3.00-$4.00 and they will be able to recommend a suitable variety for you. Hope this helps! - Gemma (Tui Team)
gemma
My partner and I attended his daughters Wedding in January and on every table setting there was a little test tube full of Wild Flower Seeds, they were labelled 'Seeds of Love' it was a lovely thought and since the bride is a Scientist the test tubes were also appropriate. I will be scattering them soon in a wee bank out the front of the house which faces beautiful hills and sunshine and lately wonderful rainbows that go all the way from the wee village here to the other side of the hills..the flowers will look just beautiful.....Lynette
Lynette Clothier
Hi Lynette, what a fantastic idea as a wedding favour - really creative! - Gemma (Tui Team)
gemma
I would love to plant wild flowers, my favourite is the cornflower. I have a little strip of garden that is rocky and is very poor soil. Will they grow in these conditions or should i add lots of compost?
Khadija
Hi Khadija, you would be best to dig in some compost to the garden so there are some nutrients to help the plants grow. - Gemma (Tui Team)
gemma
I have sown 200gms of seeds over a large area and am very disappointed with the very low germination rate. These were for our daughters wedding in March any ideas for us to do?
Trish
Hi Trish, it is very hard to say the reason for this without seeing the crop and understanding what seeds you have sown. The main causes for lack of success are lack of water, poor soil or birds eating the seed. Sometimes if the seed is sown too thickly it can affect germination too. Thanks, Jenna - Tui Team
jenna
Hi, I'm interested in turning our lawn back into a wildflower area, we've let the grass grow and it's about a foot tall now, do we cut it and the sprinkle some wildflower seeds in there or just let it do its thing naturally? Not keen on digging it all up and starting again!
Nick
Hi Nick, this is a tough one. To be successful you really need to start from scratch. If the wildflower seed is sown in amongst the grass it is unlikely to grow very well because the seed needs a “bed” to grow into when it germinates, the soil surface needs to be broken up. If sand and Saturaid were incorporated with the wildflower mix it might help germination but to spend the money on seed you want to do the job properly. Thanks, Tui Team
jenna