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The wildflowers’ beauty is not inferior to garden flowers, even though they grow wild on the roadside. People often use it as a bouquet, while some lyricists include them as a part of their song’s lyrics (remember that hits from 5 Seconds of Summer?). Let’s meet our lovely, magnificent yet unique wildflowers.
The wildflowers, or spelled as wildflowers, are considered one of the most beautiful flowers for some early English gardeners in the 19th century. They are the ones who started to realize the beauty of this “Natural Garden” and started to plant them in a naturalized manner. Wildflowers are the source of varieties for any cultivated flowers that we know nowadays. They are flowering in woodlands, mountains, and prairies. Most of them are native to a certain region, and the others are descendants from the other land.
Here are some well-known wildflowers that we sum up just for you.
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1. Fuchsia
The beautiful Fuchsia color those hedges of wild shrubs and trees in their native in Central and South America. The very first Fuchsia to be scientifically described was discovered on a Caribbean island. It named after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs.
This wildflower provides a colorful display and one of the mainstays for any summer garden. You can enjoy their delightful, pendant, bell-like shape from early June to August. Fuchsia not compatible with a cut-flower since it will only last for a day, but you can use it as a decoration item for a short party event in the evening.
2. Geranium
This wildflower has a very wide range of varieties and perfect for a cottage garden. Geraniums also an excellent choice for sunny borders and beds, with other perennials and annuals. It is an iconic and fragrant garden flower, and some of their species, such as the red and pink pelargoniums, are good for cut flowers.
If you want to plant this wildflower, make sure you give them plenty of sunlight, light level of fertilization, and careful watering. You can plant this flower indoors or outdoor, and it is considered a simple type to take care of during the winter season.
3. Abutilon
Unique like its name, this wildflower is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its general common names include Indian mallow or velvetleaf. Some varieties are also known as room maple, flowering maple, or parlor maple. Because of their shapes, it has also been called the Chinese Bell Flower.
Their native habitat is dry areas on cliffs, limestone outcrops, prairies, slopes, and in open woods or chaparral. Abutilon has a maple-like palmate leaf even though there’s no relation to the tree. Similar to hibiscus, Abutilon can flower nonstop through a year.
4. Shoeblackpant
Its latin name is Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. This wildflower is a bushy, evergreen shrub or small tree growing 2.5–5 m tall, with glossy leaves and brilliant red flowers in summer and autumn.
It’s not recommended for cut flower arrangement since it will only last one day if you cut it. Still, since they do not need to be placed in water, they are a popular choice for short-term decoration, be it on your dining table, as a food garnish, or even add more charm to your hairdo. The juice its petals can be used in herbal cosmetics. Meanwhile, the juice from the darkened, wilted flowers could be prepared to make a blue-black dye for shoe-blacking, mascara, and eyeliner.
The shape of the flowers is large and trumpet-like, with five petals, and their colors can vary from white to pink, orange, red, and yellow or purple that are quite broad. The flowers from various cultivars and hybrids can be either a single flower or a double flower.
5. Columbine
Easy-to-grow can be used in cut-flower arrangement, plus, have very beautiful color that A.J. Flynn uses its name as one of Colorado’s state songs titled “Where the Columbines Grow.” The Valley there, which is covered by these wildflowers, is indeed breathtaking. This hummingbird’s favorite flowers are bell-shaped, with attractive deep green foliage in spring that turns maroon in fall.
As long as the drainage is good and not too dry, Columbine plants will not be too picky about the soil. Although they enjoy plenty of sunlight in most places, they do not like excessive heat, especially in summer. Therefore, in warmer areas such as the south. Let them grow in partial shade and give them enough mulch to keep the soil moist.
6. Bluebonnet
Not just beautiful, this state flower of Texas has an intoxicating scent too. Bluebonnets are annual wildflowers that grow in degraded soils in full sun. This means you will often see huge fields of these blue wildflowers on heavily grazed land, or land that recently experienced fires, or even a land that has been mown, for example, a roadside.
The blue cap wildflowers are likely to bloom in early April. You can also see this flower blooming in both March and May. At any other time of the year, there is no bluebonnet in full bloom except for the renegade one. However, you can still plant this flower in your garden. Plant the seeds in the fall for the best result.
7. Buttercup
When we are talking about wildflowers, of course, we won’t forget the classic buttercup. This flower is so classic that it is included in a custom for children: they hold a fresh buttercup flower under a friend or family member’s chin. If a yellow reflection from the flower’s shiny petals can be seen under the chin, the person is said to “like butter.”
Buttercup belongs to the Ranunculus genus, and there are about 400 species of these wildflowers. Despite the differences, they have many of the same characteristics. Most species of buttercup have slightly curved yellow petals with a waxy coating. This waxy coating is formed by the reflective cells directly below the surface of its petals. This flower usually grows to 2 feet tall, and their flowers are only 1 inch wide.
These flowers have always been the favorites in many wedding bouquets and flower arrangements because of their exquisite charm. Buttercups can usually be found in container gardens, flower beds, curbs, and cut gardens.
