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Home » DIY Projects » Gardening » How To Plant A Wildflower Meadow

4th House: Raised Bungalow Build Gardening

How To Plant A Wildflower Meadow

Remember back in February when I wrote about how I was going to grow a wildflower meadow this summer? Well we finally got around to planting it. There’s an area at the front of our property that was full of weeds and small shrubs. It seemed like a natural location for a wildflower meadow. It’s an open area so it gets plenty of sunlight. It is also a bit of a lower area so I’m hoping the soil will be moist and I won’t have to water too often, but also still drain naturally to the ditch. To plant our wildflower meadow garden I used information from Vesey’s seeds as a guide. I will bring you through the steps for how to plant a wildflower meadow, including starting the seed indoors, preparing the soil, and sowing the seed.

How to plant a wildflower meadow from seed

The Seed

The seed I chose for my garden included Alaska Shasta Daisy, Hidcote Blue Lavender, Cheyenne Spirit Echinacea, Bird and Butterfly Mix, and Cottage Garden Wildflower Mix, all of which were given to me by Vesey’s seeds. I wanted the garden to be full of white, pink and purple blooms for the most part, but with some yellow and orange as well. To give the seeds a head start I planted a lot of them indoors around the end of March.

Start a wildflower meadow from seed

I used seed trays filled with potting soil and just lightly covered the seeds with soil. Then I put the trays in a sunny spot about eight weeks before I planned to plant them outside. I usually like to wait until the end of May to plant outside, but we’ve had a cool wet spring and were delayed a few weeks.

Start wildflowers from seed

Soil Preparation

Tony tilled the soil for me with the tractor and the cultivator attachment. He started out by cultivating a small area. It turns out I never really communicated to him just how big I wanted to make the garden.

Cultivate soil for a wildflower meadowThe ground has been so wet though that he could never find a good time to finish cultivating because the tractor kept getting stuck. However we finally had a few days in a row that were dry, and he was able to finish preparing the soil. Cultivation gets rid of the old roots and will give the seeds better opportunity to grow.

Cultivate soil for a wildflower meadow

Sow the Seed

First we planted the seedlings that were started in March. I spray painted a path down the center of the garden so I would know where not to plant. The path is as wide as our lawn mower; once we get grass growing in the path we can just mow it. I planted an area on the left of the path with Echinacea, a row on the right side of the path with Lavender, and Shasta daisies at the front and back of the garden.

How to plant a wildflower meadow

Next we mixed the remaining wildflower seeds with sand and broadcast the mixture evenly over the rest of the soil. The sand is so you can see where you throw the seed, as well as to decrease the seed density.

Wildflower meadow

Wildflower garden

Now we just have to water (or wait for the next day of rain) and watch the flowers grow! It doesn’t look like much now, but I’m hoping for lots of beautiful flowers by the end of the summer. I’ll let you know the progress in a few months!

How to plant a wildflower meadow


8 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Red House Style says

    June 13, 2017 at 9:45 pm

    I love that all the kids got in on the action! Can’t wait to see it in bloom!

    Reply
  2. jadoreledecor says

    June 15, 2017 at 11:01 am

    How great that the kids get to see the fruits of their labor when the field starts to grow in. They will remember this forever.

    Reply
  3. Ashley B says

    June 15, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    I am wanting to get more into planting so this definitely helps! Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Lauren @ Gather & Flourish says

    June 15, 2017 at 1:05 pm

    Soo fun Jessica! Love this idea! I want a garden so badly! I would love to be able to cut some fresh flowers for my home!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      June 15, 2017 at 10:08 pm

      Yes I would love to have fresh flowers all the time!

      Reply
  5. Stephanie says

    June 15, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    Great idea for a big yard!

    Reply
  6. Lidia says

    June 16, 2017 at 9:23 am

    I don’t have much of a garden at home so I’ll live vicariously through you!! Can’t wait to see the results!

    Reply
  7. Hayley says

    June 17, 2017 at 1:14 am

    Love the huge yard! So jealous! Can’t wait to see it bloom!!

    Reply

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Welcome! We are Tony and Jessica Vanderveen, and are accidental real estate investors in Ontario. Find out how you too can create long term wealth, while maintaining your work life balance. Find out more...

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