Do you ever wonder what folks living 100 years ago would think about all the modern ways of gardening? Traditional gardening is still done by many, especially garden enthusiasts who enjoy and have time to spend the hours necessary to create and maintain a beautiful flower garden. But in today’s busy world there are fewer and fewer folks who have the time and energy needed to grow flowers, and yet they would like to have flowers to enjoy and to attract butterflies and birds. Well, science has been busy these last few years and has now come up with a way to garden from a bag. Now you can purchase, at a most reasonable price, everything, except the soil, you need to grow beautiful wildflowers. It’s hard to believe, but mulch, fertilizer, and seeds are “in the bag,” and virtually all you have to do is prepare healthy topsoil of about six inches and evenly distribute the contents of the bag over the desired area, water, and let nature do the rest. The mixture even contains little crystals which will sparkle when you have watered enough and stop sparkling when you need to water again. You will be amazed at the beauty and color of the resulting flowers. Some of the varieties are perennial so will come back again next year. Included in a typical bag are Zinnias, Cornflowers, Larkspur, Sweet Williams, California Poppies, Pinks, Sweet Alyssum, Siberian Wallflower, and Asters. In a little more detail here is how you “plant” your garden in a bag.

• Wait to use until there is no more danger of frost
• Apply in an area receiving at least 6 hours of sunlight
• Prepare a layer of good quality topsoil where want your garden.
• Open the bag and gently distribute the contents evenly over the topsoil.
• Water, using a fine spray sprinkler until the sparkles appear
• Do not use herbicides
• Check daily to see if the sparkles are gone, and your flowers need watering. In very hot and dry weather, you may need to water daily.

It is truly amazing to watch how quickly the flowers will grow and bloom. You can find flowers in a bag in the garden section of stores such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and K Mart. There are a variety of Wildflower mixes including Pollinator Mix, Shady Flower Mix, Zinnia Mix, Daisy Mix, Butterfly and Hummingbird Mix, Aromatic Mix, and special mixes that discourage deer, mice, and voles. For those who want to enjoy the beauty of nature and either are no longer able to do the bending and digging required in gardening or who haven’t the time to garden, the Wildflower Garden in a Bag is the perfect answer.