| |
| |
|
Landscaping & Gardening Information |
|
|
|
Blue Wild Flowers for Your Garden
Planting wild flowers in your garden, or simply scattering wild flower seeds around an area of your yard are both ways to take advantage of Mother Nature's treasured gifts. Wild flowers are carefree, colorful, and tend to attract bees, butterflys and birds. So planting wild flowers not only gives you an easy maintenance flower garden... it also promises to be a constant source of interesting activity throughout the year. The following wild flowers are blue to purple in color, and some say this is a favorite color of bees. VIRGINIA or COMMON DAY-FLOWER (Commelina Virginica) - Spiderwort family The Day Flower has blue, one inch wide or smaller flowers which tend to be irregular. The flowers are grouped at the end of the stem, and are upheld by long leaf-like bracts. The leaves are lance-shaped and 3-5 inches long. The upper leaves form like a hood of sorts about the flower. These wild flowers prefer moist, shady ground and flower from June through September. The day flower tends to open in the morning and looking somewhat "alert". In the afternoon, or after the bees have visited and fertilized it, the petals roll up and quickly wilt into a wet, shapeless mass which will leave a sticky blue fluid on your fingers if you touch it. SPIDERWORT; WIDOW'S or JOB'S TEARS (Tradescantia Virginiana) - Spiderwort family The Spiderwort's flowers are purplish blue in color but on rare occasion they can be white. There's usually several flowers about 1-2 inches wide, and usually contain clusters of drooping buds between long, blade-like bracts at the end. This one can grow from 8-36 inches tall, and has long blade-like leaves. It prefers rich, moist woods, thickets or garden space, and it flowers from May through August. Like its relative the dayflower, the spiderwort opens for part of a day only. In the morning it is wide awake and pert; early in the afternoon its petals have begun to retreat and wither away. New blooms appear each day throughout the season though. WILD HYACINTH, SCILLA or SQUILL. QUAMASH (Quamasia kyacinthina; Scilla Fraseri of Gray) - Lily family The Wild Hyacinth tends to produce many pale violet blue flowers, though once in awhile they can be white. There tend to be equal groups of 6 flowers on long, oblong-shaped branches. The plant tends to grow 1-2 feet tall, and has grass-like, short leaves. These wild flowers prefer meadows, prairies and stream banks, and they bloom from April to May. These wild flowers tend to be low maintenance, and they propogate on their own, without being invasive. In addition to attracting bees, the Wild Hyacinth also tends to attract ants, wasps, flies, butterflies, and beetles. Whether you prefer to start your flowers from seeds or potted starter plants, wild flowers are a wonderful addition to any type of garden. Creating a stand alone wild flower garden is also a fantastic way to make a great, naturalized impression in large or unused areas of your landscape. Watch for future articles where I'll introduce you to many other wild flowers in a variety of other colors too! © 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard, The Garden Source Network - http://www.garden-source.com - A premier online publication featuring gardening articles, tips, advice, resources, shopping and supplies. This article may be freely published on any website, as long as the author, copyright, website address and link, and this notice are left intact.
MORE RESOURCES:
Landscaping-Gardening - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Grow Blueberries Along with lip-smacking sweetness, flower and foliage are also worthy reasons to grow blueberries. White, bell-shaped blossoms make a lovely addition to a spring garden and fiery scarlet foliage adds drama to a fading autumn landscape. Colour in the Garden Colour affects our emotions, moods, physical, and spiritual well-being. It has a significant effect on everything we eat, drink, and touch and influences our physical environment including our home, office, and garden. Wild Flower Garden - Make Amends...Your Plants Will Love It A wild flower garden, just like any garden you wish to plant, requires good quality soil that will meet the needs of the plants you put in it. That means that your garden soil may need some amendment. Growing Tomatoes Organically Tomato Seeds Vs. Tomato Seedlings?Whether you start your own tomato seeds or buy tomato seedlings, growing them organically will produce healthier plants and better tasting tomatoes. Mosquitoes in Your Garden? Try Planting These If you are a serious gardener, you spend lots of time outdoors. And, for sure, you would rather be tending your plants than swatting mosquitoes. The Amazing Hummingbird Without a doubt, hummingbirds are beautiful and interesting creatures.Those living in the wild usually have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years. The Hosta - A Shade Loving Perennial My first introductions to Hostas were four small green and white clumps edging a small section of my mother- in- laws driveway.I was not terribly impressed, they looked more like scraggly lettuce plants with a few sticks growing out of the middle plus their size never seemed to change from year to year. Introduction to Aquaponics Hydroponics and aquaponics are very similar in every way except hydroponics requires the addition of fertilizer and there's no fish in the nutrient solution.In aquaponics, plants and fish live a symbiotic life with the fish feeding the plants, and the plants cleaning and filtering the fish's environment. Butterfly House in the Flower Garden Whenever you decide to look for a butterfly house for your flower garden, you first have to determine what it is you actually want. A search for butterfly houses will yield two different types. Suet Facts and Tips If you are like many people, backyard birding is a hobby for you whether you actively encourage visits from birds or not. One way to attract birds is to put out suet -- beef fat -- and watch the crowds stop by and devour the treat. Wildlife in Winter Ponds This may seem contradictory, but you want to leave a little bit of debris in the pond when preparing it for winter.Some water gardeners net out the fish, completely drain the water and scrub out the pond, refilling it with fresh water. The Design Principle of Unity in Gardening and Landscaping A principle of all art is unity. This means that each piece of art has one meaning. A Few Simple Facts About Purple Martins Purple Martins are the largest member of the swallow family. However, in flight their wings are more triangular than other swallows. Potting Benches: Beautiful and Practical Do you love spending time outdoors in your garden creating beautiful floral arrangements that can be enjoyed by all? Do you spend more time gathering up your supplies than you actually do planting flowers? If so, you should consider enhancing your garden with a potting bench.Potting benches do more than just add another gorgeous piece of furniture to your outdoor space; they are also very practical and can be extremely convenient when creating floral masterpieces in the garden. Understanding Weeds - But mostly How to Kill em When I was a child, I loved to pick Dandelions. The pretty yellow flowers were small, colorful, and looked nice tucked behind my ear! However, if one had popped up in the front yard, my hair accessory would have been considered an atrocity!I often feel sorry for weeds. Orchids Plus More Newsletter - December, 2004 Newsletter Name Change?After several of you made suggestions to me to shorten the name of the newsletter we have decided that it may be a good idea. But first I'd like some suggestions from you, our readers. Mosquito Farms? Is That What Water Gardens Are? What is nicer that a lovely backyard garden pond. The lush growth rising above the water, graceful fish darting about and the soothing sound of the water. Manage Algae There are several different ways to manage algae in your backyard pond. The best way however is when you have several different things all working together in harmony that will best take care of any algae problems you may have. Poly Tarps: More Than Meets The Eye To many people, "tarp" conjures an image of a crumpled canvas in the corner of the garage, or maybe that shiny blue plastic sheet in the hardware store.But tarps are the beneficiary of some of the best technology in textile and chemical treatments. Store Your Outdoor Furnishings to Make Them Last In many parts of North America, the end of "porch season" has arrived. Whether you're clearing out for some oncoming bad weather, closing up the cottage for the season, beating the vandals on devil's night, or just retreating to your nest for the winter, you'll want to store away all of your outdoor items with maximum care.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |