A home gardener on Reddit has been sharing updates on their gorgeous wildflower patch grown from a premade seed mix.
For homeowners that want a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative to an ordinary lawn, wildflowers are the way to go. They're beautiful, colorful, and often hardy and self-seeding, making them easy to maintain once they're established. Plus, they're great for bees and butterflies.
This Redditor made several posts tracking the progress of their gorgeous garden.
"I can't restore my lawn for the life of me," they said in a comment. "This area was a barren wasteland of packed dirt and weeds. The wildflowers were a Hail Mary, 'what do we have to lose?' type of decision, and it couldn't have been easier!"
The first photo, which they said showed three days' worth of progress, had a scattering of pink, red, and blue blossoms. By the second and third photos, there was a thick carpet of flowers across the whole area, with new colors growing in every time.
If you thought they needed specialty supplies to get such glowing results, think again.
"It's the Midwest Wildflower mix from Albert Lee Seed," they explained in a comment. "All this was from a one-pound bag."
According to the Redditor and the knowledgeable gardeners in the comments, the mix contained poppy, Indian blanket, flax, cornflower, black-eyed Susan, and plains coreopsis. Each bloomed at a different time, which one commenter pointed out was a bonus.
"If it's a good mix of seeds, you will get something new each time something else is all done," they said.
While the seed selection was simple for this Redditor, they did have to make sure the growing conditions were right.
"I used an electric lawn scarifier, went over the area a few times until the top had some loose soil," they said in another comment. "After sowing the seeds I raked them in, and then kept the area damp twice daily for a couple weeks until established. Once I got some leaves, I broadcast some fertilizer, and we do have to keep watering the area since there's no rain in my area."
The magical results impressed commenters, with one user saying, "This is right out of a fairytale. I love the splash of colors."
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