A few days ago I leveled the front yard with extra soil and then dispersed wildflower seeds in the bare spots. The next day there was heavy rain that disturbed and/or washed away some of the soil, and did who knows what to the seeds.
I’ve decided not to repeat the soil leveling this year. However, I really do want wildflowers in my front lawn next spring and since I don’t know if the original seeds are lost, I will reseed the flowers. If in fact the first seeds are still there, then I will just have more than I originally planned.
So with no rain in the forecast for ten days, more seeds have gone down. Like the original project, I mixed the seeds with soil and scattered them on the ground.
1. TEXAS BLUEBONNET (Lupinus texensis). These are usually among the first of the prairie wildflowers to appear in the spring. They are annual plants, so in order to appear the following year as well, they must be allowed to seed before being mown down.
2. INDIAN BLANKET aka FIREWHEEL (Gaillardia pulchella). These are one of my favorite flowers — they are so bright and cheerful — and they should be blooming at the time the Bluebonnets are seeding. These are also annual plants, so must grow from new seed each year.
3. SPOTTED BEEBALM (Monarda punctata). These flowers have an unusual structure to provide contrast in shape and color, and they also should flower late enough to hide the seeding Bluebonnets. This plant is perennial, although since I plan to mow the area between seasons, it may also have to grow from seed each year.
I roughly marked the area to seed with a line of flour and stomped the area afterwards. The new soil that I added is darker than the ground underneath.


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