Growing Wildflowers
My flower gardens continue to delight all who visit.
I have many different gardens at my Bedford, New York farm. In one area tucked behind my main greenhouse, I have a small garden filled with wildflowers. We first planted it last year with a mix of sunflowers, cosmos, coreopsis, calendula, and baby's breath. All the seeds came from Pennington. At first, we were not sure how the flowers would do, but they all came up beautifully, creating a meadow-like collection of gorgeous orange, yellow and white blooms.
Enjoy these photos of this season's "miniature-meadow." Also, tune in to QVC today at 3pm ET when I celebrate "Christmas in July" with some of the newest items from my holiday collection! I'll be on for a special two-hour show - don't miss it!
-
- This garden is exploding with beautiful color. Some of you may recall, this area was long used for growing gooseberries. Last year, I decided it would be a wonderful bed for flowers. It gets great sun and because this spot is surrounded on two sides by the structure, it is also protected from strong winds.
-
- We added some poppies to this garden and a few of them are still holding strong. The name “poppy” refers to a large number of species in at least 12 different genera in the subfamily Papaveroideae, which is within the plant family Papaveraceae. They produce open single flowers gracefully located on long thin stems, sometimes fluffy with many petals and sometimes smooth.
-
- Cosmos are annuals with colorful daisy-like flowers that sit atop long slender stems. They attract birds, bees, and butterflies and come in a variety of colors including white and various shades of pink, crimson, rose, lavender and purple.
-
- The flowers measure three to four inches across, and may be single, semi-double or double.
-
- Here is a dark pink variety. Depending on the type of flower, cosmos can grow anywhere between 18 to 60 inches tall.
-
- And here’s another cosmo in beautiful lavender.
-
- This cosmo produces luscious white petals with a deep yellow center. Cosmos are vigorous, versatile and resilient wildflowers that are adaptable to both sun and partial shade.
-
- Coreopsis, or tickseed, is an extremely adaptable and easy growing perennial flower. Coreopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It develops mass quantities of yellow, orange, rose, lavender, white, or bi-colored blooms.
-
- Coriopsis is native to North America, Central America, and South America. This variety has single flowers with a burgundy ring around the center disk.
-
- This is larkspur. Larkspur produces lovely spikes of blue, purple, pink, or white flowers in spring and summer. Larkspur belongs to the buttercup or Ranunculaceae family and the genus Delphinium.
-
- We also have a group of sunflowers growing in this garden. Sunflowers commonly bloom during summer and a portion of fall. Young sunflowers turn to face the sun as it moves across the sky. They face east at dawn and then slowly turn west as the sun moves. During the night, they slowly turn back east to begin the cycle again. This is known as heliotropism and is due to the presence of auxin, a growth hormone in the stem. This process continues until the sunflower is mature. Sunflowers have different colored petals, but their centers also vary in different shades.
-
- Sunflower is the only flower with flower in its name. “Helia” for sun and “anthus” for flower. Sunflowers are also the symbol of faith, loyalty, and adoration.
-
- Once established, sunflowers can tolerate some drought; however, in the periods before, during and after flowering, they perform best with deep, regular watering.
-
- This sunflower is about nine feet tall. When a sunflower’s head has completely bloomed, when it’s been pollinated and becomes heavy with seeds, it may bend over and droop down.
-
- Here is a closer look at the giant dinner plate sized flower.
-
- Sunflower leaves can grow up to six-inches long and two-and-a-half inches wide, tapering to a pointed tip. The leaf base is rounded and tapers abruptly to a short “winged” leaf stem. Sunflower stems are also quite sturdy, but if possible, plant seeds in a spot that is sheltered from strong winds.
-
- Growing low to the ground are some calendula plants. Calendula has daisy-like bright yellow or orange flowers, and pale green leaves. Commonly called the pot marigold, Calendula officinalis, the calendula flower is historically used for medicinal and culinary purposes.
-
- Many of you recognize baby’s breath, Gypsophila paniculata. This plant may be annual or perennial, and grows white, rose, and pink, single or double blooms.
-
- Baby’s breath flowers are small and delicate with five petals each.
-
- This bed is also bordered with a row of boxwood at the front. These boxwood shrubs were nurtured from small seedlings right here on my farm. On the right, a row of hostas.
-
- The leaves on boxwood branches are arranged opposite from each other, making pairs. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Boxwood is one of my favorites – I use a lot of it here at the farm.
-
- The hosta plants flower in summer, showing off spikes of blossoms in shades of lavender or white. The bell-shaped blooms can be exceptionally fragrant, attracting hummingbirds and bees.
-
- I hope you are able to enjoy some of the wildflowers where you live. Turning an outdoor space into a charming meadow is an easy, low-cost way to help the environment. Meadows provide fabulous habitats for wildlife, beneficial insects, and forage plants for pollinators – they’re a good thing!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
