Where the Wild Things Grow

Wildflowers sound easy. They sprout with the rains and bloom on their own, right? Certainly they need no serious cultivation.

But to get a field of wildflowers like the half-acre meadow planted and maintained by Anthony Baker on the Palos Verdes Peninsula actually takes quite a bit of work--and “a lot of weeding” (wait till you hear how much he must weed).

Little patches of wildflowers are much easier, although you still must be a diligent weeder and make sure that birds don’t eat all your seed. No matter what size the plot, you can’t walk away from wildflowers and simply watch them grow.

But keep weeds at bay and a wildflower patch, or even a meadow-full, is a possibility. Weed and choose the right wildflowers (see the list of the 10 easiest on this page), and they are a certainty.

And nothing in the world of gardening is more spectacular than a field of wildflowers.

Even small plantings can make your backyard look like the Antelope Valley in spring. Although they are simple flowers, delicate and dainty, wildflowers are also bright and incredibly bold when planted in groups.

Small plantings--little meadows--will fit in most gardens. Try them where you usually grow bedding plants, or sprinkled among perennials in a border. Try them around fruit trees, especially kinds that are deciduous. One very useful spot is in that space between plants that are still maturing in a new garden. Just keep in mind that something else will have to fill their space in summer when they are gone.

In California’s summer-dry climate, wildflower seeds germinate in fall or early winter and bloom in spring. November, December or even January are good months to sow seeds of these mostly annual flowers that live for one season, then set seed and die.

To make a meadow, it’s usually necessary to grow true California wildflowers, as well as some that are not native here, but wild someplace else.

Many true California wildflowers are far too picky about soil and other environmental conditions to be considered reasonably easy to grow. Even native-plant botanic gardens have a difficult time with many.

In a home garden, this doesn’t really matter. Natives and pretenders are both pretty, with unpretentious flowers that sing of simple form and bold color. The grateful birds and butterflies are happy with either. Baker’s meadow is abuzz with both in spring.

Baker used both kinds of wildflowers in his big meadow. Some are as native as a coyote, while others, like the opossum from South America, are so at home in California that they act like they’ve always been here.

Meadow Grew From Simple Beginnings

The meadow planted by Baker is on a rare Southern California commodity--a vacant lot--owned by USC professors (and spouses) John Horn and Penny Trickett, who live on the lot next door. Because it is in Portuguese Bend, restrictions on this slowly slipping section of the Palos Verdes Peninsula meant it could not be developed.

The idea of turning it into a colorful field fit for plein air painters was not planned. The now-magnificent meadow grew from simple beginnings.

The couple had been paying the county to rid the property of weeds each year. Baker, who has a business called Natural Landscapes in Portuguese Bend, was already doing work around their residence when the couple saw the wildflowers in his garden.

Horn and Trickett wondered whether they couldn’t grow a tiny patch of wildflowers on their empty property, so Baker cleared a spot and sowed some seed.

When it bloomed, they were hooked and one patch became several, until after six years there were enough patches to qualify it as a flowery quilt, a meadow where painters do come with their canvas and easels (with permission).

This slow growth from patch to meadow may be the only way to get a field full of wildflowers, considering the weeding involved.

Keep After Those Persistent Weeds

Weeds make growing fields of wildflowers difficult. In the wild or on weedy lots, the mostly European grasses and other long-established but exotic weeds--such as mustard--outperform the wildflowers.

With the first hint of autumn moisture, from rains or irrigation, they sprout before the wildflowers. Weeds grow faster, stronger and bigger, so it’s no coincidence that most of our native wildflowers are now found on reserves, while the hills are covered with dull-yellow mustard, actually native to the Mediterranean.

To plant your own patch of wildflowers, or start building a meadow, Baker suggests you begin by watering the weeds or the bare ground.

Keep the soil moist until the weed seeds lying dormant have germinated; they’ll come up quickly in the cooling weather. Then hoe seedlings and existing weeds or pull them out.

Try to disturb the soil as little as possible so you don’t uncover more seed. On a vacant lot or an unused portion of the garden, there may be millions of weed seeds lying dormant.

Water again and sprout more weed seeds since not all will pop up on the first try, and again pull them out. Baker suggests repeating this process several times. You want to get as many seeds to germinate as possible before actually planting the wildflowers.

Baker has weeding down to a science. He says not to pull the weeds when they are too small. Wait until they are 1 or 2 inches tall, so you can get a good grip.

At that size, you can also learn to tell weed from wildflower. You will have seen the weed seedling before, when you sprouted them in advance, or when they were growing elsewhere in the garden. The wildflowers are the unfamiliar seedling. By now, Baker can instantly tell them apart.

Hoe seeds when the soil is dry, but pull weeds when the soil is moist. Never weed or work in the garden when the soil is wet from rains or irrigation.

Don’t think that once the wildflowers are up and growing, there’s no need to keep after the weeds. It’s important to keep any weed from setting seed, and they will continue to sprout and attempt to do just that throughout the season.

Baker has been weeding the meadow for six years, and “I’m still working on it.” Mustard in particular continues to sprout and threatens each year’s wildflowers.

But do let the wildflowers go to seed. That’s next year’s crop. This big meadow now reseeds itself each year. When the plants are dry and all the seed has fallen, you can cut or even mow them down. Leave the shredded, dry wildflowers on the ground as a mulch.

Scarlet Flax and Poppies Are Easier to Grow

Big things can come in small packages. Nearly all the wildflowers in Horn and Trickett’s meadow came from a few small packets of seed. Baker bought packets of scarlet flax and California poppies, then added new flowers each year.

Now some 22 kinds grow in the meadow. About half are California natives and half are pretenders.

The poppies and the scarlet flax are the two easiest wildflowers. California poppies often behave as perennials, lasting for several years. The scarlet flax, from North Africa, comes back from seed so easily that it will soon dominate, so it needs to be controlled and pulled out of areas where it’s not wanted.

Baker scatters the wildflower seed over the weed-free soil and then lightly rakes the seed into the soil or covers it with a bare dusting of planting mix. Do not bury the seed but barely cover it. Too much covering will prevent germination.

Either wait for rains to germinate the seed or gently irrigate. Don’t let torrents of water wash the seed away or into wind rows.

It’s also a good idea to protect the seed from birds, if its lying out in the open. Put foot-tall sticks in the ground and lay nylon bird netting (available at nurseries) over them, so it will be above the sprouting plants and be easy to lift off as soon as they are an inch or so tall.

In succeeding years, the wildflowers will ripen enough seed to satisfy you and the birds, but the weeds will always need watching.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

What, When, Where

* Saturday: Talk on rhododendrons for Southern California, 9:30 a.m., at Sherman Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar, (949) 673-2261. Free.

* Saturday: Class on adding color (including azaleas and camellias and other shade plants) to cool, shady parts of the garden, 10-11 a.m., at Fullerton Arboretum, 1900 Associated Road, Fullerton, (714) 278-3404. $7.

* Saturday: Children’s garden workshop on birds and birdhouses, 8-11 a.m. at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. $14, includes materials and admission for accompanying adult. Reservations required: (626) 405-2272.

* Saturday: Class on camellia selection and planting, 10 a.m.-noon, at Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge. $14. Reservations required: (818) 952-4401.

* Saturday: Workshop on making wreaths out of succulents, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 N. College Ave., Claremont. $45, includes materials. Reservations required: (909) 625-8767.

* Monday: Class on using plant material indoors for the holidays, 9 a.m.-noon, at the Arboretum of Los Angeles County, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. $25, includes materials, but bring clippers and a knife. Reservations: (626) 447-8207.