Flowers Gone Wild!

Want a beautiful, colorful, exciting way to contribute to the "go green" movement? Green your thumb with a native wildflower garden!

Wildflowers are gaining popularity for their easy-to-grow qualities that tolerate reduced water consumption and less-than-perfect soil conditions. Plus, they offer a dazzling display of color all season long. Their colorful blooms show themselves in a variety of unusual foliage shapes and sizes and many are already well-suited for low-maintenance high-impact gardening. Additionally, wildflowers attract a number of garden-friendly visitors that contribute to the beauty, health and balance of the garden, including birds and butterflies. Here are some tips for creating a beautiful wildflower garden:


• Choose a location that receives from six to eight hours of full sun and where the soil offers good drainage.

• Most wildflowers can grow in heavy clays and less-than-fertile soils, but it is important to begin with a good seedbed.

• Prepare the flowerbed by removing any existing weeds or grasses.

• Till only the top 1-2 inches of soil, as tilling deeper could stir up thousands of dormant weed seeds and cause a struggle for the wildflowers to establish themselves.

• Do not fertilize unless the soil is extremely sandy, since wildflowers do not need fertilizing because they are adapted to undernourished soils.

• Consult a nursery or garden professional for advice on wildflower mixes that will flourish in your area. The more indigenous the seeds, the more hardy the garden.

• A good wildflower mix contains annual and perennials, offering the garden a wider variety of colors, sizes, heights, and season-long blooms.


Wildflowers are great for hard-to-reach areas such as along fences and between canyon stones. They keep the garden alive with their valiance and cheerful display. The more native the mix, the more eco-friendly the garden, and its just one of the many ways to do your part for the health of the planet.