Perhaps you have decided you want a wildflower garden. You have decided that if these wildflowers can grow in the wild without any one taking care of them, just maybe they will be the perfect plants for your to grow. After all you don't have a lot of time to take care of a garden but would really love to have some lovely flowers and other plants to look at and to dress up your landscaping. So how does one go about starting a wildflower garden?

You should approach starting a wildflower garden much like you approach any other kind of flower garden. Begin with looking at your yard and around your home to see what you have. Is your lot full of mature trees that cast a lot of shade? Are you on a fairly new lot and maybe don't even have a lawn in yet?

Do you have areas that stay wet? Is your soil deep and loamy or thin and rocky? Are trees in your yard causing your soil to be very acidic or is it very alkaline?

Now you must factor in your climate. Do you get lots of rain or is it very humid as in the Southeastern United States? Are you dry as in the Southwestern United States? Do you live in the city with barely any room at all and have to put up with bouts of smog?

Now that you've taken stock of what you have and where you are, you need to decide just what it is you want to accomplish by starting your wildflower garden. Is it as stated in the opening paragraph that you simply want some lovely flowers and plantings that are easy to maintain? Or perhaps you want to attract some local wildlife and provide a home for predatory insects so they will help you protect your vegetable garden? Are you conservation minded wanting to save resources or save the wildflowers? Perhaps you just want to show your neighbors how lovely native wildflowers can be.

Once you know the above, you can decide how you are going to go about starting your wildflower garden. Basically you have two choices. One, you pick wildflowers that will grow and thrive in the conditions you have. Two, you change the conditions you have so you can grow the wildflowers you want. This could include bringing in loamy soil, draining an area so it's drier, cutting down trees, creating a shaded area or what have you. The choice is yours.

Finally you can begin with the fun part of starting a wildflower garden and that is picking the plants and wildflowers. Once you know what you have and what you want, you can begin to design a wildflower garden that takes advantage of your landscaping and then choosing the wildflowers and plants that fit with your design, climate, location, soil type and so on.

Copyright 2006, Sandra Dinkins-Wilson