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Romantic or Realist - Establishing A Wildflower Lawn or Meadow

© Georgene A. Bramlage

It's hard to squash a romantic, asserts Georgia author Bailey White in her 1994 book Momma Makes Up Her Mind and Other Dangers of Southern Living as she describes her own sortie into what she calls that pinnacle of whimsy for romantic gardening fools...the wildflower lawn.

But hang on there; White is too shrewd to be trapped by fantasy. She implicitly understands what former first lady Lady Bird Johnson meant when she gave the wildflower romantics a look, and said, "You can't just scatter the seeds around as if you were feeding chickens."

White went about creating her wildflower meadow the way tacticians achieve their goals - she made plans, settled on priorities, and set small rewards for herself along the way. White was determined to have her wildflower lawn. Goading her onward was the vision of leisurely strolling, clad in a white linen dress, through a seemingly endless wildflower meadow. Were White's plans accurate? Did White achieve her vision of a wildflower lawn?

I will reveal that White achieved her goal of a seemingly perfect wildflower lawn, but I will not divulge what else she gained from that experience. I will caution you that White did meticulous research homework to achieve her goal, but will not reveal the pithy observations she made along the way or what she reaped at the end of the journey. You'll need to read the book to take advantage of White's final interpretations.

The magic and mystery of a wildflower meadow in full bloom.

A homeowner doesn't necessarily save time or even money by deciding to cover bare soil with wildflowers instead of turf grasses or other ground covers. My own experience is that scattering flower seeds from a can doesn't usually result in a wonderful finished product. Preparation, installation and early maintenance of a wildflower meadow or lawn is about the same as for a new lawn. The payoff comes months and years later when wildlife, including songbirds, move into the area and mowing or cutting shrinks to once per season.

Once you've discerned that a wildflower lawn or meadow will really suit you and your lifestyle, your very next question should be, Where and how do I begin?

Seeding should be done in the spring, as soon as the surface area is prepared, so there will be blossoms on the annual flowers by midsummer. Biennials and perennials do not add to the display until the second and following growing seasons.