This year I'm going back to my beginnings and planting the seeds that have done well for me in the past. I'm not planting anything new. When I see a field of wild flowers on the side of the road, I know what most people don't realize - that field is probably seeded every year, for many years, before a predictable solid mass of color appears every year. Persistence and patience are required before that gorgeous show happens regularly - and you also have to throw in a healthy dose of steady rain. As I drive by those pastures carpeted with Bluebonnets, sunflowers, and Indian Paintbrushes along Highway 290 after you pass the Brazos River or amble along the scenic highway 390, I know that the owners of those properties have poets' souls. Because that beauty doesn't happen accidentally. It takes child-like wonder (and money and patience) to produce those memorable displays. This year my seed selections are:
Cornflowers / Bachelor Buttons - I planted these the first year that I had the Orchard built. They were beautiful, all pastel colors with the color blue as the star of the show - a rare and elusive color. They weren't good re-seeders, and I only had a few here and there in the coming years. I haven't planted them since that time.
Lance-leaved Tickseed - the first year I began expanding my Star Garden off of the original star, I built a long bed, maybe twenty feet or more. I seeded the whole thing with Tickseed. It was a beautiful show of golden yellow. They still pop up here and there. So beautiful.
Red Corn Poppies - some of my favorites. They suit the loud, strong-willed corner of my soul. This year I will mix them with sand and spread them with a hand held spreader so I get good distribution.
Rocket Larkspur - I have grown them every year since the Orchard was built, and they are very good re-seeders. Last year they didn't come back well, a phenomenon which I attribute to the rainiest season in recent history (too much of a good thing, compacted muddy soil) , so I'm going to re-seed this year. They remind me of my mom who in turn sees them each year and thinks of her mom.
California Poppies - the cool blue of the leaves is my favorite part of these pretty plants. But the gaudy gold color of the flowers is what most people love. I remember the first winter after I built the Rose Garden, I seeded the whole thing with California Poppies. It was a riot of gorgeous gold. It has never looked like that since that time. Actually, it was too much of a good thing. There were poppies everywhere, no discipline whatsoever. I love them still, and plan to have a good show this spring as well - just in a bit more organized fashion.
Bluebonnets - this year I'm planting Lady Bird Royal Blue Bluebonnets. They are such early bloomers that no one sees them except me. They bloom before our annual crawfish boil. True Texas flowers, I have to grow them even if I'm the only one that sees them. I am, after all, a very important guest at this spring display, so they are not a wasted effort.
Corn Poppies - these flowers are like snow flakes. Every one of them is different. Delicate and extraordinary. They hold a special place in my heart.
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