Wildflower Bed Preparation

Since we've had a few frosts, it is now time to prepare the front wildflower bed for next year. I always buy my wildflower seeds from AmericanMeadows.com. They sell seeds for different parts of the U.S. so you'll be able to find the ones for your area / zones.
This will be the third year in a row that I have planted this area with wild flowers and if the system works, it should be self-sustaining after next year. The plan is that you plant the seeds in the winter and this is supposed to give the outer crust of the seeds time to break down. This will cause more seeds to germinate. So I scattered the new seeds then added an inch or so of good topsoil. At the end of the summer season I already mowed the area so that the seed pods on the plants get dropped in the same area instead of blowing away. Supposedly if at the end of each of the first 3 years you add more seeds and another thin layer of dirt then after three years there should be enough plants growing to reseed the area by themselves. I'm at that point now so we'll see what happens next year.
This is one of my favorite areas from spring to midsummer. We planted around 150 tulips and daffadils the first year we moved in (2 winters ago). They keep increasing and we have a nice show between them and a rhodadendron. Then the wildflowers start to grow and bloom while those are fading. We also have four rose bushes that add to the lively colors. It is quite a show for a few months in a row.

I've added some pictures and walk through the wild flower process below.



The wildflower bed right after I mowed



Hard Work!



Lots of beauty in a bag!



Wildflower Bed all finished






Some wild flowers that forgot to go to seed.