Wildflowers create beauty year round
By L.A. Eaton

Wildflowers are so beautiful, especially our native Virginian ones. And many people hesitate to plant them in their yards, because their blooming times are usually so short. But there are ways to plant in succession since each species blooms at different times of the year.

“If you do it right, you can have something bloom every single month of the year,” said Ken Bass, legendary naturalist and Audubon field trip leader. “It comes down to exposure and soil condition; what grows in the shade and what grows in the sun.”

Your yard will look beautiful with native wildflowers like Bloodroot, Greek Valerian, Columbine, and Black Eyed Susans and certain species of Columbine attract hummingbirds even more than bird feeders. You may enjoy the colorful Resurrection Lily, which blooms virtually overnight. And if you already have wildflowers in your yard, now is a good time to divide them and put them in different places around the garden, said Bass.

When looking to purchase wildflowers, Bass said that mail order catalogs are not a good idea. “You don’t want to buy wildflowers unless you know where they are coming from,” he said. Well known nurseries or Wildflower Society sales are good places to get the wildflower plants or seeds. Members of the Audubon Society also have plant exchanges to help enhance their gardens.

Bass and his wife Fran have lived on their five-acre property in Prince William County for 25 years. The couple have designed and managed their property for a more natural environment that includes birds, turtles, frogs, and other wildlife. They don’t use pesticides and grass cuttings are composted along with household scraps for organic fertilizer.

The Bass property is home to over 200 species of birds, including 54 nesting, 200 butterflies and moths, over 30 breeding reptiles and amphibians, three species of squirrels and perhaps two dozen other mammal species. The couple has made their yard a sanctuary for wildlife by growing native plants and reducing conventional lawn care.