WILDFLOWERS

WILDFLOWER MEADOWS are a beautiful sight when in bloom. And they’re costefficient to install, too. “It can be done exclusively from seed, which from a cost standpoint makes it bearable,” says Larry Weaner, of Larry Weaner Associates, an ecology-based landscape design firm in Pennsylvania featuring native species.

Also, “it is a landscape you can see around if you want to preserve open space but don’t want to mow your lawn every week.”

An established wildflower garden doesn’t need a lot of attention, with a weeding session once per season— spring, summer and fall—and an annual mowing at the end of winter, Weaner says. “That schedule is very realistic if you pick the right plants; it is very unrealistic if you pick the wrong plants.”

With a mix of short-lived annuals, you may eventually end up with a big patch of weeds. Instead, choose a mix that fits the conditions (sun vs. shade, moist vs. dry) and look for perennials, which will outcompete weeds once they are established in two to three years. “It’s not about picking out the flowers that look pretty or picking out the cheapest mix, which is likely shortlived plants,” Weaner says. “This is really about understanding the environmental conditions you have and determining what are the native species to your area that grow in those environmental conditions.”

A big bonus is the meadow’s ecological impact. “Native species that occur in meadows are the most rapidly declining species of all types of native plants,” Weaner says. “Consequently, the insects and birds that depend on those particular native species are also rapidly declining. From a wildlife habitat standpoint, when you plant a meadow, you are planting a combination that is in part reversing the decline of two very important elements of nature: native plants and native fauna.”