Why Grow Native Wildflowers in the Garden?
If you are a wildflower enthusiast, naturalist, or someone interested in wildlife, you might ask the question, Why would anyone want to use native wildflowers when garden centers, nurseries, and mail-order companies offer lots of big, blooming, bright, lovely, and colorful exotics? The rewards for using these plants in the landscape are numerous, including conserving native biodiversity, attracting wildlife and butterflies, medicinal uses, aesthetic and intellectual stimulation, education and enlightenment about nature, and a sense of having something different from other gardeners in the neighborhood. There are also numerous photographic opportunities. Other reasons to grow native wildflowers include an array of species that have big, colorful blooms. As a further incentive for using native wildflowers, there are species that can be used and adapted to virtually any landscape with problem areas: poor soil, little soil (e.g., rock gardens), heavy clay soils, shady places under the waln
