Adding wildflowers to your backyard landscape can dramatically change the look. It’s easy, doesn’t cost much, and once you get them started, Mother Nature will lend a hand.

You can pick up packets of wildflower seeds at numerous stores; from Kmart to Home Depot. Most wildflowers like plenty of sun, but check the packet. There are a few varieties that like shade.

To get started, choose an area of your yard where the sunshine is prevalent. The more grass and weed you remove from the area, the more dominant the wildflowers will be.

Don’t worry, though. There will be some grass eventually growing there and it just adds to the look.

Wildflowers grow in almost any soil. Basically, if grass and/or weeds grow there, wildflowers will most likely grow there as well. One exception is areas that do not drain well.

If you have access to a tiller, till the area lightly. Do not go too deep. Two or three inches deep is best. You just want to loosen the dirt.

If you don’t have a tiller, you’ll have to do it the old fashion way with a shovel and a rake.

Once you have loosened the dirt, rake it so it looks fairly level. Then spread the seeds according to the directions on the packet. You will then rake the area so the seeds are covered by an inch or two of dirt.

Don’t worry too much about birds eating your seed. You can chase them away when you are in the yard, but they are not going to consume that much of your seed.

Water thoroughly. It’s recommended you water daily until the plants begin to sprout. You will usually see some sprouting within a week or two, but some do take much longer. About two weeks of daily water should be sufficient.

You can also take seed and spread it throughout your yard, much like Mother Nature does. The seed will work its way into the ground from the rainfall. Using this method, it’s not uncommon for the wildflowers to begin sprouting the next year.

Spreading seeds throughout your flower gardens adds some very nice color and, since this ground has been worked, they grow rather quickly. An added bonus is they help cut down on weeds in your garden.

Once your wildflowers come up, they will reward you with exciting colors. The flowers grow at different times, so you may find some nice blue ones early in the summer and others springing up throughout the rest of the summer, replacing the ones that die out.

As the wildflowers die out, their seeds fall to the ground and are spread by the wind, as well as birds. The next year you will have wildflowers in areas you weren’t expecting.

Each year more and more wildflowers appear in your landscape. The colors they add will leave your backyard breathtaking.

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Miniature roses are definitely real roses; they’ve just been cultivated to stay much smaller than their full size counterparts. Their miniature size also extends to their blooms, which are also much smaller than their standard rose brethren.

Pretty much like full size roses, they come in a full range of colors so they’ll fit ideally into a wide range of garden designs.

One very particular advantage of miniature roses is that they tend to be much hardier than other types of rosebush and can stand quite harsh winter conditions. Another advantage is that they are usually repeat bloomers and have a long flowering season.

Miniature roses come in several different sub-types, some of the most popular being:

1. Miniature climbing roses, which can be trained to grow up supports such as trellis.
2. Miniflora. This is a classification of the American Rose Society. They developed it to classify a relatively new type of miniature rose that has slightly larger blooms than normal. The overall size of the bush is also a bit larger than a normal miniature rose.
3. Trailing miniature roses, which, as their name suggests, have growth, which hangs downwards, and are, therefore, ideal for hanging baskets and window boxes.

As far as planting and care goes, miniature roses are really no different than their full size relations. Once planted you should water really well and apply a layer of mulch.

As mentioned earlier, the hardy nature of miniature roses makes them year-round plants in a lot of climates. Because of this it is vitally important that you keep them well nourished and to this end you should expect to fertilize them regularly.

As far as watering goes, you should, generally speaking, do this once a week, but you’ll have to adjust for local conditions. The more rainfall you get, the less additional watering you’ll need to do. You just need to ensure that the water soaks down to the full length of the root. This means you should be aiming for twelve to eighteen inches below the surface.

You should prune your miniature roses the same as full size roses.

In terms of diseases and pests, miniature roses are prone to the same ones as their larger namesakes.

While it is possible to grow miniature roses as houseplants, most gardeners agree that they tend to do better when grown outside. One of the reasons for this is that they need a humid environment in which to thrive. When the heating is turned on in the winter indoor humidity can be hard to maintain and indoor-grown miniature roses can dry out in this season.

Growing miniature roses is certainly a fascinating and rewarding hobby and will ensure that your garden has maximum color for the longest growing season.

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