More Progress in the Wildflower Garden

Removing the Last of the Grass

Grass Removed. Plants to be Added

Seedlings Planted

A good summer rain arrived a few nights ago and it just seemed like a good day to finish removing the grass that remained inside the frame and plant a few of the seedlings that I've been growing in my hobby nursery - Hawthorn Hill.  I didn't wake up with this notion in my head, but as I surveyed the progress of the plants that I already had planted previously it just seemed right. I am often asked about when the best time of year is to add plants. In my mind, it's when the mood strikes AND when you have the time necessary to commit to nurturing them until they are established. It's really no different than adding a new pet to the household. New plants need time and attention. Native or not, you cannot simply plant them, water them in, and step away. Over the years, I have heard it said too many times by well-meaning folks - native plants don't need extra care or watering. It's that attitude that has cost the lives of countless plants and turned a few folks away from using natives. ALL plants need time to adjust from life in a pot to life in the ground. Their root systems are confined to the space afforded by the pot and in most landscapes, the soil moisture is deeper than that.
Here in Florida, I try not to plant during the typically dry months of April and May, but I like to plant once the summer rains have returned. Even though it is hot, the soil moisture is easier to maintain. My next favorite time is during the winter months: December - February.
The grass I inherited when I moved in last October is now completely gone. I still don't have all the plants ready that I eventually plan to add, but I have a pretty good idea what I will add. Some of them are still in my nursery, but too small to move from their pots. Species like Florida paintbrush (Carphephorus corymbosus) and Simpson's rain lily (Zephyranthes simpsonii) are in this group. I still haven't decided if I will add the coastalplain palafox (Palafoxia integrifolia) that I've been growing since last year and a few species are still struggling a bit since I moved them from flats into individual pots. If some of them recover a bit better in the weeks ahead, I will add the graceful and elegant blazing stars (Liatris gracilis and L. elegans).
What I did add are things I've been eagerly waiting to plant. My typical black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are long-time favorites of mine. I added a dozen plants in a cluster near the stoke's asters (Stokesia laevis). I rounded up the remaining purple and yellow coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea and Ratibida pinnata) that weren't sold at my last sale and put them near the ones I'd planted previously. I chose the largest seedling I could find of my woody goldenrod (Chrysoma paucifloculosa) and put in the the "hole" left by a couple of seedlings of another species that did not make it. Only one of the three Florida Indian plantains (Arnoglossum floridanum) caught on, so I added two new ones and I added one more late purple aster (Symphyotrichum patens) from the few I have remaining - emboldened by the fact that a previous one has done so well. I already had three species of blazing stars, but I love this genus. I added five Liatris laevigata in a small cluster and last I added three rice button asters (Symphyotrichum dumosum) that I grew from seed collected last fall. This is a very variable species that might actually be a suite of several species. This seed came from a population of rather bushy plants instead of the typical singe lanky stems.
My wildflower garden is diverse and getting more so over time. I believe in diversity. It takes more time to assemble a collection like this, but in the long run, it will serve its various purposes far better than if I had relied on fewer species. Although I have not made a recent count, I believe I have close to three dozen species growing now inside my frame. Most will bloom heaviest in the fall and I hope a few of my new additions will get large enough this year to join in.