Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Sunday - June 02, 2013
From: Licking, MO
Region: Midwest
Topic: Planting, Seeds and Seeding, Wildflowers
Title: Wildflowers for September wedding from Licking MO
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I am getting married this September in Licking Missouri back in the woods on my dads land. I would like to have wildflowers for the bouquets and reception decor. Can I get some advice on which flowers would be the best and how I go about planting(where and when)them? I am interested in white flowers mostly with some pops of soft pinks, blues, and even purples if possible. Any information would be helpful! Thanks!ANSWER:
We love getting questions about wildflower weddings. What we hate are the answers we have to give. The Mr. Smarty Plants Team is good, but we still have to play by Nature's rules. Wildflowers that would be blooming in September in Missouri would have to have been planted last Fall. Perennial wildflowers blooming in September would have had to be planted two years ago.
Please begin with this previous Mr. Smarty Plants question and follow the links in it, too.
Now, if you have not totally lost patience, please read these three previous answers, which deal with using the surroundings that are already there.
Clearing a space for an outdoor wedding
Because there is always hope, we are going to go to our Native Plant Database and select wildflowers ("herbs") that bloom in Texas Co., in south central Missouri. and select white, pink, blue and purple for the flowers. We got 617 possibilities for the four colors and growing natively in Missouri. And we didn't even get through the A's!
We have listed the first 4 we found with your requested colors. Now, this is not to say that all these flowers are going to be up and blooming on the site you have chosen, but some should be. Advice:
1. Mow only to make paths and a place for the ceremony.
2. Use NO herbicides for any reason. If something obnoxious is coming up, pull it. Spraying unidentified plants with poison may be killing the loveliest flowers for your ceremony.
3. Ask others in the area if they have fields of wildflowers from which you can pick bouquets. Be advised that wildflowers do not ordinarily make very good cut flowers.
Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow) - white
Agalinis purpurea (Purple false foxglove) - purple
Amsonia ciliata (Fringed bluestar) - blue
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine) - pink
Bottom line: Let Nature do its job.
From the Image Gallery
More Wildflowers Questions
Repairing damage to perennials from hailstorm
May 15, 2006 - We just had a tremendous hailstorm north of Georgetown. The hail was being blown horizontally and my perennials were sheared off at the ground. Is there any advice as to how to help these plants reg...
view the full question and answer
Bluebonnet blooming in late August
August 27, 2008 - We have a bluebonnet plant in our front yard that has been blooming since July. We did not plant it, it just came up naturally. Is it rare to have a plant still blooming this time of year?
view the full question and answer
How many leaflets does a Texas Bluebonnet have?
July 04, 2010 - How many leaves does a Texas Bluebonnet have? I have a co-worker who is making disparaging remarks about my bluebonnet plaque.
view the full question and answer
Wildflowers for an April wedding in McAllen TX
April 16, 2010 - I live in McAllen Texas and plan to get married April 2011. My dream is to get married at my parents ranch. I visualize beautiful wildflowers and I am not sure what to plant and when. Any suggestion...
view the full question and answer
Smarty Plants on Rohel’s saxifrage
May 11, 2005 - Hi, can you help? Do you know what is a plant named: Rohel’s saxifrage?
"Bulgaria - Cenral Balkan National Park - Kozya Stena (Chamois Wall) Reserve was established on December 22, 1987. With an a...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |