This forum is titled wild plants. I assume that if we have planted a meadow of wildflowers, that is definately not the same, correct?
I'd like to post some photos, but what is blooming in our 'wildflower' meadow does not seem to really jive with true wild plants. Where would I post pix?
Thanks!
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Dea, I don't see anything wrong with posting them here :-) I'd love to see them. A lot of the seeds in the wildflower mixes aren't native plants but they do grow wild in different parts of the country.
My vote is to post em right here!
Thanks! Wasn't quite sure.
Dea, your meadow is beautiful!
There's another site, to remain unnamed, where the "Native Plants" forum was pristinely native and none other to even be mentioned without the threat of sneering remarks and nasty tirades. I think here we are all layed back enough to recognize that "wildflower" has come to mean many things to many people!
One of the neatest wildflower finds that I've made here on the farm is not a native, but a little dianthus that escaped cultivation many, many years ago. It is called Deptford Pink and has become rare both in England, where it was named for the town of Deptford and is native, and here where it is only occasionally found out in the open and hardly ever found in cultivation.
Thanks Kathleen - DG is the only gardening site I've ever belonged to and am happy to say you can make mistakes without threats :)
The class you described sounds great and hoping you are enjoying it.
The meadow has been fun this year and we're looking forward to watching it change through the summer. Yes, I know this rocket larkspur looks like I pasted it onto the cornflowers, but just can't get this 'depth of field' thing figured out on the camera :)
I agree-your meadow is beautiful! Looks wild to me!!
Did you get this from a mix??? How wonderful. They look like wildflowers to me and I love the eye popping thing going on in the second pic. I would love a plot that looks like this.
Kathleen,
That "other forum" is specifically entitled Native Plants. This one is not. This one is a lot looser, and that's great! The other one is much more specific...it says so right in the title. That's fine with me, too.
I think the only time there was any trouble in that other forum was when people who knew better would go in there and purposely troll. Never saw anyone hassled there for asking an honest question. I've had to ask a few "dumb" questions in there, too, and was never made to feel un-welcome. In fact, I have to go ask a couple of them today.
Dea, your meadow is just gorgeous! Bet you got lots of butterflies. Beautiful! Enjoy!
Dea how did your meadow fare towards the fall end of summer's bloom? I found my red poppy seeds and am sowing them right into my back garden today, so they'll be there to brighten spring. The blue bachelor buttons would be good there too.
You have summer meadow photos?
Dea,
another thing to look out for is the "meadow in a can" mixes you can buy at many major retailers..yes, they will look excellent in the first year! Because they're mostly annuals. They will not be back next year unless they re-seed...and the re-seeding rate is like 30 percent germination. so you're looking at much less when it comes to mature, flowering plants. Probably 10 to 15 percent, or less, will survive to flower . Some seed in a can mixes seeds can't survive our winters. Or, you will get perennials/natives in the mix(like purple coneflower) that WILL re-seed, AND come up the next year and over a short period of time, simply overwhelm everything else. If you want pictures of what can happen with the "meadow in a can" mixes, please e-mail me. I have pictures. The rest of the ground will be taken up by weeds, in most cases, and after 2 or 3 growing seasons you will be most unhappy. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Perennials are your best bet. Native or not. April