A Missouri Wildflower Paradise

This year, I'm expecting these little beauties to bloom along with all the other wildflowers I planted last year. 

The beautiful Copper Iris does well in average to wet soil. Here's what the entry at www.mowildflowers.net says about them:

The striking bronze flowers make copper iris easy to identify.  In Missouri, it is found in the southeast corner of the state.  Three petals and three larger petal-like sepals form the classic "fleur-de-lis" shape.  Copper iris is beardless and crestless and has a more flattened flower shape than other irises.

Copper iris is clay tolerant and makes a great addition to rain gardens.  If growing in a perennial bed, make sure the soil is rich and organic.  It may need to be thinned after a few seasons; it spreads via rhizome and can make a very large clump.

Companion plants:  Marsh Milkweed, Rose Mallow, Golden Ragwort, Mist Flower, Palm Sedge, Sweet Coneflower

Uses:  deer resistant, rain gardens, hummingbirds, clay soil
Bloom time:  May

Height:  18 to 24 inches
Space:  16 to 20 inches

Sun:  Full sun to medium shade
Moisture:  Average to wet

Now, I'm hoping that my little garden becomes a wildflower paradise, but if you really want to see one, you need to go to the Missouri Wildflowers Nursery just south of Jefferson City right off highway 54.  What a beautiful, inspirational place! I blogged about my visit last year HERE.

What I Planted-Native Flower Garden

Last fall, I planted a little Wildflower Garden, as a part of my plan to have more native plants and flowers in my own yard. I wanted to help the butterflies and hummingbirds, have less maintenance, and more enjoyment in a more complimentary landscape to our Ozarks environment here. Here is one variety that I planted:

The Glade Coneflower: Others that I planted were Butterfly Plant, Blazing Star, Purple Coneflower, Missouri Coneflower, Milkweed, and a couple of others. I bought the plants dormant last fall from Missouri Wildflower Nursery  and I am happy to report I can already see some signs of life occuring in the dormant plants!  They should really start up in this next little warm up we are going to get here in South Missouri!  I will post more pics soon, although there really isn't much to see, yet. But I have this vision....... :)

Have a great day. ~JB was here.

To Sprout a Wildflower Seed Do This~

Germination of Wildflower Seed (Coneflower)

Did you know that many wildflower seeds including the purple Coneflower, need a process known as "stratification" before they can sprout? The Purple Coneflower, or Echinacea Purpurea, is one such example.

If you plant the seeds in the fall, you don't have to do anything special. You just start by making sure you have a clean slate, in other words, you need to be sure you have killed or otherwise removed any existing vegetation. Sow the seeds on surface, preferrably in the late fall or early winter. Don't cover the seeds, just press them in or better yet, let the impending winter weather do that for you, just like in the wild. To control weeds the first season,cut the flowers and the weeds back to a height of six inches each time they reach a foot.

If you are planting seeds in the spring, and you do not have four to six weeks left before the last frost, here's what to do. To stratify the seeds, place them with an equal or larger volume of soiless planting medium or sand, in a plastic bag. Add water to make moist but NOT wet. Leave them at room temperature for 24 hours. Then check your moisture and add sand or a little more water if needed. Label the bag and place in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks. Maintain the seeds as moist but not too wet or dry during the time they are cooled. Then-you are ready to plant as described above!

This is a series of Coneflower images from my garden that I cropped square,textured and made into a collage. I find their forms very graceful, yet strong. I like how long the blooms last, and that they are an attractant to summer visitors such as butterflies. The Coneflower is an enjoyable native plant to Missouri that I plan to have many more of in my garden/lawn in the future.

I hope if you stopped by you are having an amazing day wherever you garden. :)

~JB was here.