Easy Kansas Flower Gardens
By Sally Wilcox
Would you like to have a flower garden but think they're too much work? Do you like Black-eyed Susans, Purple Coneflowers, Hollyhocks, Larkspur and other flowers commonly grown in Kansas? If you answer is "yes" to both of these, you can have a flower garden that will come back year after year and the time to plant it is now.
Of course, maybe you think seed planting is only a spring activity. You can, however, follow nature’s pattern and spread your seeds in late summer or early fall. Some of the flowers mentioned above, plus others such as Cosmos, Coreopsis, Gaillardia, Beebalm, Sunflowers, Bergamot, Asters, Daisies and Gayfeathers, are usually found in flower seed displays. If you don't already have these in your yard, check local grocers, hardware, drug, seed and department stores now for seed packets. You may also find wild flower seed packets but these flowers are mixed in together, so if you want any particular kinds, buy them singly.
If your seed bed hasn't been spaded up, you should start with that. If you have one going and don't want to disturb other plants, it's easy to scratch up small areas with a hoe, rake or spade. You can also plant or broadcast the seeds and cover them lightly with potting soil in beds that are being used or have been spaded up in the last year or so. To plant Purple Coneflowers, dig a small, three- or four-inch hole and plant the whole burr.
Some flowers, Hollyhocks for instance, are biannuals. Even though they will re-seed themselves, they can be started mid-summer or early fall so that they can come up this year to bloom next year.
You can dig up wild flowers and replant them, but they often don't do well. Finding them as they go to seed is best. You might have neighbors or friends who have flowers that re-seed and who will give you a start. Many gardeners like to trade seeds.
If you are a gardener who wants your flowers in rigid rows, this kind of planting isn't for you. These flowers will come up where they wish, and your job will be either pulling them out or leaving them alone.
This type of fall planting goes well with spring favorites such as roses, iris, peonies and bulbs that you may have already. Let the flowers come up around them as the spring plants die off. Some of the prettiest gardens, but maybe not the neatest, are those where a mixed variety of flowers come up, some early, some mid-summer and some later on. If you like this type of old fashioned gardens, you will have flowers all summer and they will amaze you with their beauty and durability. Some re-seeding plants may re-seed so much that you could have to thin them.
The book Prairie Wildflowers by Clenton Owensby lists 165 types of wild flowers native to Kansas. While you wouldn't want all of these in one garden, it's well to remember which flowers you've seen, or have had experience with, that grow easily in our state.
While some of the ones mentioned may "take over" your garden, wouldn't you rather be pulling out flowers than weeds?
Human Services & Aging
11811 S. Sunset Drive, Suite #1300
Olathe, KS 66061-7056
(913) 715-8800 : voice
(913) 715-8825 : fax
(913) 894-8822 : TTY
E-mail