Hi! I've been seeing a lot of posts about being cautious with wildflower seed mixes, because many are misleading and not in fact good for the environment and/or pollinators. I saw a post advising people to post in groups like this to seek more specific guidance. I am located in Wisconsin and know that maintaining a "traditional" lawn will be expensive, a waste of water, and destructive to a lot of insect's natural homes. I'm trying to find good plants that are good for butterflies and pollinators in particular, but are low maintenance as I am also a mom of a two year old and in my final year of medical school.
I was looking at this site https://www.edenbrothers.com/ but I am nervous as I don't really know what I am looking for.
Thank you in advance!
by NewTone9079
7 Comments
Eden Brothers gets two thumbs down. That Wisconsin mix has about half nonnative species. [Prairie Moon seed mixes](https://www.prairiemoon.com/search-results.html?Search=Mixes#/?resultsPerPage=24) are a good option. They are a native nursery based in Minnesota so most of their seeds are gonna be native to you
How big is the lawn? You’ll likely be better off converting part of the lawn to a garden then slowly expanding
I tried a wildflower mix in a front yard garden bed about 6 years ago. It was spotty and the few flowers that grew were all different heights in random spots. It just looked messy.
I agree with just expanding your garden beds out slowly. I would use plugs or plants so it is lower initial work and you can see the results. Plants in grouping of three or more plants. Not only does it look nicer, the presenter at a native plant workshop I went to said there needs to be about 9 square feet of each type of flower in a garden to attract pollinators.
I used the Eden brothers Michigan wildflower mix last year. Loved it. Mainly cosmos bloomed but they were freaking awesome and all year long. That being said a lot of the stuff including the cosmos wasn’t native but since this isn’t a native sub so be it. It the end it provided me and nature a bunch of joy. And if my options are cosmos or quack grass I’ll take cosmos all day. That being said if you want native only they not a good choice. Bought another 2lb of it for this year as well
https://youtu.be/k-C4UYB8BYc?si=S-sSNRpamSYMXa0e
This is Wisconsin specific and might help answer some of your questions
I’m in NC, USA and also wanted to do a native wildflower garden/meadow. After researching natives and a variety of wildflower seeds mixes, I ended up finding the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and their butterfly highway program. They sell seed packets of an entirely native blend of wildflowers to support native and migratory pollinators. I would bet your state has a similar program! I’d recommend reaching out to the Wisconsin wildlife federation to ask. If they don’t have their own program, they may have other resources they can refer you to
Search Google for “Wisconsin native grass seed” and “Wisconsin native wildflower seed”
that should get you a decent set of results.
REMEMBER that native grasses are ALSO important.
Hi u/NewTone9079! It’s amazing that you know all the reasons WHY you want to go with a wildflower lawn – for a lot of people that can be the hardest part!
Our top recommendation for beginning gardeners is a wildflower seed mix with a mix of annuals and perennials. Annuals will give you color in year one while your meadow establishes, and the perennial will give you long-lasting color for years to come.
If supporting pollinators and environmental health is a top priority for you, then it sounds like you’re probably most interested in native wildflowers! We have a few resources for finding native wildflowers – our [Native Midwest Wildflower Mix](https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/wildflower-seeds/native-midwest-wildflower-seed-mix) would be a great place to start (100% north American native species)! You can also explore [native plants for Wisconsin](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/state-birds-flowers-wildflowers/wisconsin-state-flower) and [keystone native plants by ecoregion](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/meadowscaping/keystone-native-plant-ecoregion) if you want a little deeper dive!
Good preparation is definitely key to success with wildflowers – or any garden planting. Good soil preparation and careful removal of weeds before planting is the secret to a low-maintenance garden. Check out our guide for [How To Grow Wildflowers for all the details](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/wildflower-seed-planting-instructions) about planting, preparation, planting, what to expect, and everything else.
(As far as what to look out for – it’s good to get an idea of what invasive species there are in your area in general and just “know before you grow”. Not all introduced wildflower species are harmful – and different people have different perspectives on how many introduced species should be cultivated at home)