If you enjoy wildflowers, you should consider planting them in your yard. By visiting parks, forest preserves and wildflower gardens, you can see native plants, such as the great white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), the trout lily (Erythronium americanum) and the beloved Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica). These flowers soften the earth with their color and texture.
Along the side of the house a few dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) beat even the crocus as the first flowers of spring. The prairie comes alive with shades of purple and violet as the silky leaved pasqueflower (Anemone patens) is again the first to bloom. Wherever we go, the blossoms of the wild plants are there to please us.
By a visit to one of the remaining wildflower preserves, such as the James Woodworth Prairie Preserve in Glenview (965-3488), the Morton Arboretum in Lisle (968-0074) or the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe (835-5440), one can view vast stretches of wildflowers. But in reality you need look no farther than your own front lawn. A wealth of wildflowers occurs naturally all about our homes. Inhibited by mowing and the persistent use of weed killers, many of these plants are just waiting to flower and reproduce themselves.
If you choose not to follow the trend of, ”Heck no, I won`t mow,” you can still recreate a special world right in your own back yard.
To begin a wildflower garden one must first select a site. Often this will determine the types of plants that are to be grown. On the other hand, one might first pick the type of plants wanted and select a site suitable to grow them. Like so many other types of gardening, the proper selections of site and plants may be the true key to success. That unsightly wet area behind the house might well be just the site for a variety of tempting bog plants.
If this is beginning to sound complex, it needn`t be. Several books on wildflower gardening are available. Two that I especially recommend are the beautifully illustrated ”Wildflower Gardening,” by the late James Underwood Crocket and the editors of Time-Life Books (Time-Life Books, $11.95) and my favorite, ”Wildflower Perennials for Your Garden,” by Bebe Miles (Hawthorn Books, now out of print but available at most libraries). Both these books will provide a great deal of assistance with plant selection, garden planning and cultural information.
The real enthusiast will certainly want a copy of ”A Field Guide to Wildflowers,” by Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny (Houghton Mifflin Co., $9.95). This excellent guide will help you identify about any wild flower you may encounter. With 1,344 detailed illustrations arranged by color, form and detail, even the amateur should be able to identify most plants. For the less detail-oriented enthusiast, a new book, ”Suburban Wildflowers,” by Richard Headstrom (Prentice-Hall, $19.95), serves as an introduction to the more common wildflowers of your backyard and local park.
Illinois is especially fortunate in that many sources of native plants are located within the state. Many are just a phone call away. Most nurseries will gladly supply you with a list of recommended plants for your area. Sadly, many of our most beautiful native wildflowers are increasingly rare and some are indeed in danger of extinction. For this reason, people are encouraged not to collect plants from the wild but to purchase them from reliable dealers.
Sources for Illinois wildflowers:
Lounsberry Gardens, P.O. Box 135, Oakford, Ill. 62673.
Midwest Wildflowers, Box 6141, Rockton, Ill. 61072.
Windrift Prairie Shop, RD 2, Oregon, Ill. 61061.
Country Road Greenhouse, P.O. Box 74, RR 1, Malta, Ill. 60150.
LaFayette Home Nursery, LaFayette, Ill. 61449.
The Natural Garden, 38 W. 443, Highway 64, St. Charles, Ill. 60174.
Peter Schram Native Plant Materials, 766 Bateman St., Galesburg, Ill. 61401.
What to grow
Aquilegia canadensis–wild columbine
Adiantum pedatum–Maidenhair fern
Arisaema atrorubens–jack-in-the-pulpit
Asarum canadense–wild ginger
Erythronium americanum–wild trout lily
Lobelia cardinalis–cardinal flower
Mertensia virginica–Virginia bluebells
Osmunda cinnamomea–cinnamon fern
Trillium spp.–trillium
For sun:
Anaphalis margaritacea–pearly everlasting
Anemone patens–pasqueflower
Asclepias tuberosa–butterfly weed
Echinacea purpurea–purple coneflower
Liatris aspera–blazing star
Monarda didyma–beebalm
Rudbeckia hirta–black-eyed Susan
Solidago odora–sweet goldenrod
Viola pedata–birdfoot violet
For wet soils:
Asclepias incarnata–swamp milkweed
Caltha palustris–marsh-marigold
Chelone glabra–white turtlehead
Houstonia caerulea–bluets
Iris virginica shrevei–blue flag iris
Lobelia siphilitica–great blue lobelia
Veronica fasciculata–ironweed
