How Do I Start a New Wildflower Garden?

Hello,

Newbie question: I fenced in a wooded area in my backyard and created nature trails for walking/sitting (1/4 acre) so now I need help in where to purchuse inexpensive plants and which ones to start with?

My wife and I would like to start a wildflower garden and also plant flowers along the nature trails (see photo). So far we have only planted azalea bushes purchused at Pikes but we are ready to get creative!

For a starter, is there a fairly inexpensive way to start things off and are certain flowers better than others to begin with? Or is it just a matter of taste and what appeals to each person as you walk down the isles at Pikes or Home Depot??

Best regards,
Frank and Toni

Seeds are going to be your cheapest route for wildflowers. Go to any of the big 3 or a local nursery for a large selection that should do well in our area and then there are all those seed catalogs that have some you will never find locally.

Black eyed Susans (rudbeckia), Shasta daisies, and purple coneflowers (echinacea) are hard to beat for perennials. Daylilies and irises do well if they get a few hours of sun. If you don't mind annuals try sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, larkspur, poppies for starters. I usually stock up with a few dozen seed packs each year just for sowing in a garden.

If you are looking for woodland wildflowers; try trilliums, jack in the pulpits, bloodroot, wild ginger, Virginia bluebells, daffodils, liatris, lobelia, helleborus, ferns, spiderwort, and many more that may be harder to get established (fire pink and lady slipper orchids come to mind).

If you feel confident with seeds, I can send you some. Please just D-Mail me, I'd be happy to send some off to you. These would be annuals now.
Perennials need to be winter sown and you can go to http://www.wintersown.org to find out how to do that. I grow many, many plants including natives from seeds with winter sowing.

If you want to try natives which are perfect for a lovely woodland garden, you may want to search this website from the Athens, GA area
http://sparkleberrysprings.com/ I buy native seeds from them. On the front page is a lovely red buckeye. I purchased painted buckeye seeds from these folks and every single one of them has germinated! Some are planted, some are still growing. A lovely woodland plant.

I have purchased many woodland natives also from eBay's Viola Valley Wildflowers. They are licensed and collect "from the wild" but they also propagate this wild area so technically their woods is their nursery. I have found their plants to be spurb. My white trillium are blooming now!!

GGG

Hey there,

It looks like you get lots of shade there?? Make sure right plant is in the right place. If you joined you could check out the wintersowing forum and see what thats all about. it's how I start all my seeds.. the easy way!!

:)

Susan

Yes, you are correct... there is a lot of shade in the backyard due to all the trees! Although partial sun does break through the trees as the sun moves along during the day. Its been a constant battle trying to grow grass right behind the house, one I refuse to lose! The grass does well this time of year, but by mid-summer it will tend to get thin due to lack of full sun.

I have a similar wooded area in front of my house which I am having a blast filling up with everything I can think of. It has taken me two years to get any azaleas established, and I lost 75% of what I planted in the beginning. Oh well, live and learn. The helpful folks here at Dave's gave me great advice on planting azaleas and are probably responsible for the survival of the remaining ones. I love most any bulb - they give a lot of bang for the buck, not only money-wise but time and effort as well. The areas that get a some sun have daylilies, glads, cannas, and tons of asiatic and oriental lilies and some of the shorter dahlias. The ones I planted last year have increased, so if my math is right I should have every square inch covered in just a couple of years! LOL> In the shadier areas I have caladiums, vinca major (yes the one that takes over everything, I love it for groundcover). On the other side, I scattered seeds of zinnia and cosmos. They added lots of late season color last year and I loved them. I also planted some daffodils, trillium and hyacinth in the shade areas, and plan to add lots more of those this fall to cover more of the area. Also some ferns and a few hostas, they look awesome and I want to add some more of those this year.

My experience as a novice gardener has been simple - try a little of everything and what I really like - I duplicate! I hope your 4-legged helper doesn't like to dig up bulbs like mine! We had a serious chat this weekend when I went out to check on stuff and found several EMPTY bulb holes with paw marks nearby. Aaargggh!