How to Plant Your Own Flower Meadow

Spring is so amazing - there's nothing like a blooming field of flowers waving in the wind! Flower meadows are so beautiful. And although you may think of a flower meadow as something that only occurs on wild, untrimmed banks beside the road - not in your own garden - they really aren't too hard to plant yourself, assuming you have some space available. Here are some tips on how to plant a pretty flower meadow of your own.

- (Photo credit: Wikipedia)1. Find out what grows in your area. You will have a much easier time and better (and more sustainable) results if you choose plants that grow well in your local climate. If possible, choose native species.

2. Interestingly, wild flowers (especially native ones) will do best in poor soil that is basically bare. Wildflower meadows work well in areas where you have trouble growing grass. This is good - there will be less competition for the wildflowers.

3. If there is already grass growing on the site, you can still plant wildflowers as long as it is not the dense, manicured sort of grass. If it is, you will need to till the ground first. This is best done in autumn or very early spring.

4. Choose your seeds. If you have checked into finding the proper species in Step 1, this shouldn't be too hard. You can actually collect your own seeds at various times of the year, too. But probably the best advice is to purchase seeds of a wildflower mix. Something to consider is blooming time - plant both spring and summer blooming flowers to have flowers for a longer period.

Also think about what you want to accomplish with the wildflowers. Do you want color? How about attracting wildlife? Do you want to provide flowers for bees or seeds for birds? Once you determine the purpose, that will help you narrow down the seeds.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)Choose perennials that will not need to be replanted each year - unless you want to replant them each year!

5. Scatter the seeds evenly and broadly, covering the whole area in a single layer.

6. Rake the seeds into the soil, or just walk over it. These are wildflowers, after all - in nature, they simply land on the ground and sprout without any help.

7. Scattering the seeds can be done in autumn or spring, depending on the nature of your mix and how much traffic is in the area.

8. Water the area lightly, then wait. You will need to cut back some of the weed growth that first year so that weeds do not take over (weeding the whole area by hand would get tedious). But once the flowers are established, you will not have to do much of anything year after year.