Rewilding My Lot

Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) are one of my favorite wildflowers and therefore I seeded them both in front of and behind the house in fall 2023.

As it happens, these plants thrive in my particular environment and so each year I have an abundance of their cheerful blooms that have self-seeded from the previous year. The Firewheels in the east-facing “meadow” in front of the house develop first, followed by the west-facing ones behind the house a few weeks later.

There are already a few Firewheels blooming in the meadow, and several buds very close to opening.

On the north side of the house, where the turf grass doesn’t grow well, last year I spread some straw mulch made from spent wildflowers. The intent was simply to put some organic material down to cover and replenish eroded soil. What I didn’t account for was that the mulch would transmit viable seeds, and so now I have Firewheels beside the house as well!