Wildflowers easy to grow, great to show

If you enjoy the beauty of a wildflower garden, why not create one in your yard or simply add wildflowers to your perennial beds. They’re a great solution for areas of the yard that are difficult to mow or water.

* When planting on slopes, use a wildflower mat so that the seeds won’t wash away in heavy rain. When the roots take hold, they’ll prevent erosion of the slope.

* Want a low-maintenance garden that features an abundance of flowers? Wildflowers are native plants that grow with little gardening assistance and return year after year. They can be found in practically every surrounding natural landscape from fields to roadsides to forest preserves. With a little preparation, you can bring their special beauty and benefits into your own yard or garden.

* Wherever you live, choose a location that gets six to eight hours of full sun and has good drainage. Most wildflowers can grow in heavy clay or less-than-fertile soils. They won’t do well in wet conditions. The key to growing a hearty wildflower patch is to start with a good seedbed.

* Remove any existing weeds or grasses. Mow any tall weeds with the mower on the highest setting. For low-growing grasses and weeds, use a nonselective herbicide like glyphosate. Be sure to follow the instructions on the label.

* Till the top 1 to 2 inches of soil. Tilling deeper than that will stir up thousands of dormant weed seeds and the wildflowers will struggle to get established.

* When planting wildflower seeds in a new garden area, don’t fertilize. Unless your soil is extremely sandy, wildflowers don’t need fertilizer. They are used to growing in average soils.

* To determine the amount of seed you need for your garden, measure the area’s length and width and multiply them to get the total square footage. Wildflower-seed mixes should be sown at a rate of 1 pound per 2,000 square feet. If you want a thicker initial stand, plant at a rate of 1 pound per 1,500 square feet.

Courtesy of Chris Dawson, host of HGTV’s “The Seasoned Gardener.” Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.