15 Montgomery Road
P. O. Box 186
Huntington, MA 01050
Ph: 413-667-5786
Katheryn Darrow

Experienced gardener available for Design, Installation, Restoration & Maintenance. I use hand tools and practice Soil-building, Integrated Pest Management, and Organic Gardening methods. No charge for first consultation.

Celebrating Wildflowers

Do you love the wildflowers along our country roads too?

there is a succession of colors and form that I find breathtaking. At first it's the daisy fleabane, colt's foot and foam flower. The violets are underfoot, and the trout lily fins its own shady spot. Now, in July, the bigger bolder show comes forth with the wild daylilies and oxeye daisy. How to sing the praises of Mother Nature's lavish display? Leave it to the poets!

A worthwhile trend has come along, sponsored by Lady Bird Johnson, of various seed companies who cull the seeds from each region of the country. Here in the northeast these mixes contain Shirley poppy, larkspur, bachelor button, and a fluffy white annual - baby's breath. These mixes bloom profusely during the first year, as the annuals dominate the perennials. However, if left undisturbed, the annuals re-seed and give a second year's bloom.

Any open area, especially in full sun, is prime for planting wildflowers. Not only providing beauty, but attracting butterflies, is a benefit. One other plus, is the fact that no mowing is necessary. It is the answer to that chore - "time to mow 'de lawn!"

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