Tips and advice on wildflowers in your garden

Last update: June 25, 1997 - 11:00 PM

In addition to his writing, C. Colston Burrell maintains a Minneapolis design business, Native Landscape Design and Restoration, which specializes in wildflower gardens.

Naturally he includes a section on designing with wildflowers in his new book, "A Gardener's Encyclopedia of Wildflowers" ($29.95, Rodale Press, Inc.), published this year. It is subtitled, "An Organic Guide to Choosing and Growing Over 150 Beautiful Wildflowers."

In the design section, Burrell suggests that "you can create beautiful wildflower gardens for every yard and situation once you stop thinking of wildflowers as 'meadows in a can' and start thinking of them as garden-worthy perennials.' Here is an excerpt from that section:

When creating your own designs with wildflowers, use the same principles you would when designing a perennial garden. Use plants that bloom at different times to create a long flowering season. Mix heights, shapes and textures to give the garden depth and dimension -- if everything looks the same, you'll quickly be bored by it. Make sure you include plants with attractive and colorful foliage, such as ferns, ornamental grasses, and heucheras, to keep the garden looking interesting even when there's not a lot in bloom. Think of your garden as a tapestry where plants blend together to create a beautiful effect. And get ready to enjoy the visiting birds, butterflies, toads and other wild friends that will share your pleasure.

Tips from the author

C. Coston Burrell provided this advice specifically for Home & Garden readers:

Avoid buying wild-collected plants. Many native plants still are collected from the wild, often from public lands. Woodland plants such as trilliums and orchids often are dug in the wild. Buy from a reputable nursery that specializes in native plants. Always ask the nursery about the source of the plants they sell. Some clues that a plant is wild-collected:

Poor root system. Knock the plant out of the pot. If it has poor roots, do not buy it.

Bonus plants. Pots of wild-collected plants often have other wildflowers growing with them.

Lopsided placement in the pot. Nursery-produced plants are centered in the pot, but wild-collected plants often are shifted to the side to accommodate roots that have not been produced in a container.

Price. Expect to pay the same for a wildflower as you do for a traditional perennial of the same size. Cheap plants are often collected from the wild.

Buy your wildflowers locally. Plants grown from local seeds are better adapted to the local conditions. Your chances of success are better, and the local genotype,as it is called, is integral to the local ecology.

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