Plant a Wildflower Garden in Your Front Yard
No front yard is complete without some kind of flowers, even if there are only a minimal of flower varieties used. Some people prefer more traditional flowers that can be easily purchased from the nursery, like pansies, snapdragons, and marigolds. You can however try for a different look using only wildflowers in your front yard. One nice thing about wildflowers is that if they are planted properly, they can look perfectly natural, as if they have been growing there for years. Since there is a wide variety of different wildflowers you can use in your front yard, you can select the ones that appeal to you the most.
First, plan on where you want to plant your flowers. This can be a small area right up against your house, or somewhere slightly away from your house. Flowers by the walkway that lead fromthe driveway to your front door can look very inviting and beautiful to guests who may be surprised to see these wildflowers. Most wildflowers are hardy and do not require any special soil treatment, even if there is a small amount of clay in the soil. Very few even require fertilizing, which can make your garden affordable to plant and maintain.
Mark out the area where you want to plant the wildflowers. Remove any grass covering the area, shake the dirt loose, and toss the grass in your compost heap. Loosen the soil a bit if you want to plant wildflower seeds. Otherwise, you can leave the dirt area plain. If you don’t have any seeds on hand, take a stroll through your yard for wildflowers that are growing anywhere. A small wooded area nearby can supply these flowers if available. Make sure the area is not part of somebody’s property, though. Flowers you will probably find include: violets, trillium, columbine, hepatica, shasta daisy, mariposa lily, mountain laurel, dame’s rocket, Queen Anne’s lace, and bishop’s flower. Most wildflowers transplant well, so make sure you have all of the roots plus some dirt from wherever you dig your plants up from. Transport the flowers in a plastic bucket so you don’t lose any. Plant the smaller flowers on the outside so they are visible, and the taller ones behind them. After they are planted, pack down the dirt around each plant, then water them.
Check your wildflower garden for weeds each week, and pull out the weeds. You can also add some pebbles in and around your plants for a finished look. Your front yard wildflower garden is now complete!
Image Credit: kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
