Perrenial Wildflower Garden

[Rip_Some_Lip]

I am thinking of planting a Butterfly/Hummingbird garden in my back yard this year. I ordered some seeds online but have a few questions for those that have experience with this. I haven't decided what design I am going to go with yet but have a couple ideas.

The seeds I ordered are; Bee Balm (Monarda Didyma, Columbine, Delphinium, Butterfly Weed, Joe Pye Weed, Purple Coneflower, Coreopsis, Liatris Spicata, Royal Red Catchfly, Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Heliopsis and Cardinal Flower. I would like to spread some patches of some sort of switchgrass but didn't get any seeds for that.

Does anyone see any problems or have any suggestions with my selection? I was planning on planting by seeds and thin out plants later. I am also doing seed stratification on the seeds that require it. I have never planted anything like this before and was wondering if it would be better to start seeds indoors and transplant to garden later in spring?

I have enough seed to do a pretty good size garden. I am thinking of doing a fire pit patio and planting the garden around it and along a walkway from deck to fire pit. My backyard goes into the edge of a slough and was thinking of planting any leftover seeds in the edge of the slough.

I would appreciate any tips or warnings with this type of garden. I would like to attract some more birds and butterflies to watch. I also have a few bird feeders out and get a good selection of birds by the river. Thanks.

[Tom7227]

Do you want it to look like a garden or a prairie? I went with the prairie look and just spread the seed and let it develop. A problem with that approach however is not being able to tell what is desirable and what isn't. Weeding is something you have to do since there are things that will take over the setup, but it they are all mixed up it takes a lot of knowledge to know what to pull.

Have you paid attention to what types of plants grow in the soil and conditions you have? Any decent catalog will tell you what a particular species needs for conditions. Be sure to match things.

I also spent a lot of money buying started plants from nurseries and honestly I haven't had much luck with it.

But then you have to realize that it changes every year. For a couple of years it was overrun by yellow flowing plants that were about 3 feet tall. Then they transitioned out a bit and are now under control.

If you try and plant things in some sort of order you may have better control than I do. But then go for a walk in a native prairie and see how things are set up out there.

Good luck.

[Tom Sawyer]

First off, don't try starting your plants inside early. You will be much better off sowing directly when the soil warms, late May/June. It may take a couple years for several varieties you have to become established and show off their blooms. Some just take time and can be tough to grow. Although they all are weeds, all plants have conditions they do best in. What is your soil like? along with your location? Full sun?

Would like to reemphasize that just broadcasting seed, weeding will become difficult, but also some of your selection will do better without any completion from other plants and need space. You have several that are very evasive, and some are taller and may shade out others. Read your packages carefully to determine height and spacing. If you have the varieties separated already, use it to your advantage.

You can achieve a random more natural look, be able to weed, and also have some organization by seeding small areas with one or two similar varieties. After they reach about 6 inches you can transplant them where needed, to give the area an even more natural look. The one variety that doesn't like to be transplanted is Butterfly Weed, so figure where it will do best before you drop the seed and don't plan on moving it. Columbine also has deep tap roots, but will tolerate transplanting, especially when young.

I have been using wildflowers in my landscaping and gardening designs for years. My property up north has been more of a challenge, but I'm finally gaining ground with varieties that are deer resistant, and do better in marginal soil. Can't wait for this years gardening season.........

[leechlake]

I have two experiences with this.

Number one is at the cabin. Every few years I sprinkle varieties of seeds in the landscaping. It's cool to see what comes up every year. I'm sure up there since I don't tend it at all the success rate is pretty low.

Number two is our neighborhood. It is managed as a prairie with wildflowers, grasses etc. A company manages it and they seed, do burns, mow it down from time to time and have for over ten years. At times of the year it looks pretty good other times it seems just grassy. The black eyed susans seem a little thick some years but are cool enough to look at. I guess my point is that even this professionally managed work isn't perfect. Part of the reason, or maybe most of the reason is that the natural environment really isn't a prairie. Mother nature lets things grow that are natural to an area.

I'd just have fun with it and realize it will take some years to work out. Don't forget some grasses. Oats look great when the wind is blowing them although they are an annual.

[Tom Sawyer]

A company manages it and they seed, do burns, mow it down from time to time and have for over ten years.

If it's been 10 years, without a stable look, those Pro's are not very good.

Rip in Lips post some pics as things come along.........

I know if you put some blisters on your hands, you will have a stable,great looking patch in 3 years. That's without even knowing his location, or soil type. May just need to change to some different varieties is all.

[Rip_Some_Lip]

Based on my vegitable garden, I have heavy clay soils. I sent in a soil sample to the U of M about 5 years ago when I started gardening and the nutrient levels were good. I need to send in another to see how it has changed over the years but havent had any problems growing anything. I plan on tilling in some sand and maybe compost for better drainage plus my back yard is on a slight hill that goes down to a slough behind my house.

I have full sun in most of my back yard. I plan on planting butterfly garden in sections with shorter species in front, medium height in middle and taller stuff in back. I plan on planting in sections to try to keep plants somewhat separate and to keep the colors somewhat separate.

Like I said, I am still not sure what design/shape I will go with. I am thinking of incorporating a patio/fire pit with a stone walk or something. I also figured it would be a couple years until I got it the way I want it to look. I figured I would try to thin plants to the proper spacing once they are tall enough to know what they are. I am thinking of renting a sod cutter to remove the grass. I was wondering if tilling the topsoil below will bring more weed seed up or if I should not till it.

[TR21HP]

Another thing to consider when having this sort of planting garden near people is bees. The same plants that draw birds and butterflies also draw bees. Just another thing to consider.

[Tom Sawyer]

Great idea with the sod cutter, just don't set it to deep so you take all the top soil. If it's good grass, and not any creeping type grasses like fescues, quack, or Bermuda type grasses, go ahead and till. Carefully roll and remove sod if it is weedy, the weed seeds that are viable are only in that top layer.

Although if you have any tubular, crawling type rhizomes, you should carefully remove them from the soil first, after sod cutting, but before tilling. Otherwise you will be making the nicest Quack grass patch you have ever seen.

These white roots are easy to see and generally don't go deep. Unless you have Bermuda grass.

[delcecchi]

quack is why god made roundup and black plastic.

[Rip_Some_Lip]

I wondered that too Del. Would I be better off cutting sod now and kill the area and plant later in spring? I don't know what type of grass it is but there is some quack grass in areas I think. I don't like applying chemicals but have sprayed weed killers in the past.

[delcecchi]

I'm not a gardening expert, by any means. I do have experience that says you need to get rid of the grass and weeds first since it is really hard later, especially if planting perennials.

I found quack to be almost impossible to eliminate, so my recommendation is to get rid of it first. I don't have any experience with doing the sod thing to get rid of grass and weeds,so can't say if it works to get rid of the bad stuff or not.

[Rip_Some_Lip]

I guess I wouldn't need to cut the sod if I killed it huh? What is the time frame for round up to dissipate to be able to plant again? That would be cheaper too. Do you use black plastic and for how long?

[delcecchi]

There might be a recommendation on the label. Otherwise the consensus seems to be 7+ days before tilling. Gives stuff time to die all the way before it gets chopped up.

[Tom7227]

Gas it. Till it. Rake it. Let sit 2 weeks. Gas it. Rake it. Let it sit one week. Plant.

If you use a sod cutter you will achieve the same result but get to move about 3 billion pounds of dirt as well.

[Tom Sawyer]

Stick with the sod cutting method, you will be removing seeds along with unwanted grasses(Roundup doesn't kill seeds). Rake and pull out what you see for white rhizomes, till without adding anything, look for more rhizomes, add organic matter, then wait until soil warms before planting. Most remaining grass will pop up before you seed, some maybe latter, but all can be removed easily by hand.

Roundup is not the only answer to get rid of grasses, especially Quack. It can easily be removed by hand. As I mentioned the roots aren't usually deep. Loosen soil with spade before attempting to pull it. Follow the roots.

Don't forget to post a few progress photos, and to plant native milkweed,,, Good luck!