The Breathtaking Beauty of Wildflowers

What can be more cheerful than watching beautiful wildflowers swaying in the wind? It is a common sight in spring season when you can spot thousands of flowers blanketing the valleys, meadows and mountains. It is quite surprising to see these wild plants thrive even in the toughest spots. You can see wildflowers and the native plants lined up besides the highway when you are driving through the countryside. It is a picturesque sight...Every one would love to see something similar on their property. It's obviously not possible to replicate the beauty entirely but by growing some spectacular wildflowers you can achieve similar results.

Photo Credit- Intermountainregionusfs/ Flickr

Wildflowers are very obedient and warm plants that can take on the harsh climate and still manage to wear a smile. Okay not wear a smile, but still manage to look lovely! These plants do not require any care and maintenance as long as they are being planted in their native area. They have adapted so well to the climate and environment over the years that they do not need much attention. You can grow these plants in your home garden for a hassle free landscape.

Photo Credit- Patrick_standish/ Flickr

The seeds, fruit and nectar of these native plants and trees provide for the local wildlife. They are a delight to have in any home garden. You can choose from many colors and species available in most of the wholesale nurseries. Landscaping with wildflowers is best for gardeners who are looking for naturalization. So, if you like neat and manicured lawns then they are probably not meant for you. These native plants will perform their best if you let them be. They will spread rapidly and cover the area in an array of colors.

Photo Credit- dok1/ Flickr

Some must- have wildflowers for a home garden are Black Eyed Susan, Coneflower, Blue Belles, Phlox, Daffodils, Daisy, Poppy, Daylily and so many more to choose from. The list, literally, is endless. You can grow these plants for a splash of brilliant colors in your home garden.

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Gardening Tips For Fun And Functional Purposes

Gardening can be a fun hobby and for some people, it is even a source of food. But in order to create the garden of your dreams, it is important that you are well educated on the subject. The following article is going to give you valuable advice that both beginners and experts alike can use.

Garden Plants

For garden plants that crave and need a lot of water, use five gallon buckets to keep those thirsty fruits and vegetables happy. Simply drill or punch several 1/8" to 1/4" holes into the bottom of a five gallon bucket, fill with water and set near the parched plant. Gravity allows for a slow and steady watering of those plants and if you live in an area where you get frequent rain, you will be capturing plenty of rain water to keep those buckets fairly full all season long.

Use your leftover pasta water in your garden! Plants are big starch fans and thrive with water that contains higher levels of starch, like the water left over after you boil pasta or potatoes. Make sure, though, that you let the water sit until it reaches room temperature prior to watering your plants with it!

Make sure that you are familiar with the level of humidity that your garden plants require. Some plants simply cannot survive without proper levels of humidity. Some plants require high humidity or tropical conditions, while others require arid or desert levels of humidity. Educating yourself will help you to avoid poor plant choices.

Nursery

Grow plants from seed rather than purchasing plants from a nursery. It can be tempting to purchase plants that already have a head start, but it is usually not necessary. By growing from seed, you could find yourself landscaping your yard for under $50.00 worth of different plant seeds, rather than spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars at a plant nursery.

Give your garden a boost with instant color. If your garden is looking a little dull, a quick trip to your local nursery will do the trick. There, you will find colorful annuals and perennials in full flower, waiting to be planted into the ground, a window box or a hanging basket. This is especially handy if you are entertaining, and you need to brighten up the yard, or if you are trying to sell your house. Spots of color help to make a home look inviting and cheery.

Seeds take a lot more time and effort to grow than nursery transplants. That being said, planting seeds is much cheaper and gives a greater sense of satisfaction to see something actually grow from seed. Hard to grow plants or perennials are best purchased from a nursery. This is a great way to have a ready-made garden!

As was stated above, people garden for many different reasons. Becoming knowledgeable about the topic can help you create your dream garden. The above article provided you with valuable tips you can use to make and keep your garden. Take this advice and you are on your way to becoming a garden expert.

Unruly Garden Plants

No one will be surprised that I was seduced by the beguiling rhetoric of Plant Delights owner Tony Avent when I ordered this plant (above):

We were thrilled to find yet another in the overlooked genus boehmeria that makes a great garden specimen. The deciduous Boehmeria platanifolia makes a 5′ tall x 4′ wide texturally enchanting clump of upright stems, clothed with fascinatingly bold, deeply-incised green leaves, each attached to the stem by a bright red petiole. The top of the stems are adorned in late summer…I use the term “adorned” loosely…with floral stalks that look like limp pipe cleaners. Visitors to the garden seem quite enchanted with this…we hope you feel the same.

I was one of those visitors. At the Plant Delights show garden outside of Raleigh, this looks like a large, vigorous shrub, and it didn’t take long for it to achieve those proportions in my Buffalo garden. All the promises were realized, including the lush profusion of deeply incised leaves, the red stems, and even the limp, pipe cleaner flowers—lots of them (in bud now). On the other hand, I can’t say that this unusual plant—seriously, I probably have the only boehmeria in Buffalo—gets that much attention from garden visitors. One person mistook it for a ligularia, and congratulated me for doing so well with it. Otherwise, no one has ever mentioned it. Usually, I have to point it out myself.

But you know, it doesn’t matter. Every time I walk by this plant I think of my decision to order it from Plant Delights and marvel at its success in its small dank corner. This obscure plant gives me almost as much pleasure as all the showy lilies that visitors marvel over at the end of July.

A year ago, I added another lesser-known perennial to the shade garden. I purchased Collinsonia canadensis (stoneroot) from an online plant nursery; at the time there were no visible signs of the plant showing above the soil of its black plastic gallon pot. I had faith, however, and bought it on the strength of its promised height and shade tolerance.

The promise was quickly fulfilled, and this year it looks like the plant is spreading to the same shrub-like proportions as the boehmeria. Not that anyone seems to notice. No landscaper or garden designer would ever choose these unruly specimens—they’d have good reasons. But I love my big, leafy, obscure plants. Probably for the same reasons.