Sustainable Living: Managing Annual Wildflowers

 

Arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentis) - Mother Nature's Backyard

 

Annual
wildflowers are among the most popular California native plants.  An important part of our natural heritage, they
add unique colors and interest to the spring/summer garden.  We covered the basics of annual wildflower gardening
in a previous posting:  http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2013/01/growing-california-wildflowers.html   Here we consider the sustainability side of
growing annual wildflowers.

You
may be puzzled about the idea of ‘managing’ wildflowers.  They are,
after all, ‘wildflowers’; can’t they can
simply manage themselves?  And indeed
they can – in the wild.  But local gardens differ in important ways
from wild lands.  In the case of annual
wildflowers, several gardening choices play a key role in wildflower sustainability.

Removing spent annual wildflowers after seeds are gone

 

Late
spring visitors are often surprised to see golden wildflower stalks among the
blooming shrubs in Mother Nature’s Backyard. 
One rarely sees drying flower stalks in public gardens; they are often
removed as quickly as possible, to preserve the beauty of the garden.  The practice of ‘immediate removal’ of spent flowers
does improve the appearance of a
garden – but at a cost.  Understanding both
the costs and benefits can help you make the right decisions for your own
garden.

Our
annual wildflowers are remarkably efficient organisms.  They germinate, flower and set seeds in only
a few months, allowing them to succeed in our mediterranean climate.  Local annuals survive the long dry season as
seeds; so their continued survival is entirely dependent on the formation of healthy,
viable seeds.  Without seeds, the
wildflowers will disappear from the garden.

The
last stage of seed development is the ‘desiccation’ stage, during which seeds
lose up to 95% of their water.  This extreme
drying allows the embryo to enter a state of suspended animation; there it
remains, unharmed by hot, dry weather, through the summer and fall.   When
the winter rains begin, the seed and embryo quickly re-hydrate, allowing the
embryo to begin growing and thence to germinate.

Seed pods - Arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentis)

It’s
often impossible to tell whether seeds have matured to the desiccation state
before they enter it.  If collected too
early, seeds may not yet be ready; even if allowed to dry, they may not be
viable.   The safest strategy is to allow seeds to dry
naturally on the plants. They can then be collected (important for seeds that
are heavily eaten by birds) or allowed to naturalize in the garden.   

And
that’s why visitors to our garden see drying flower stalks this time of year. They
are very noticeable (see above).  But what’s
nearly invisible is the process of seed desiccation - taking place in every
pod, capsule and flower head.   A true miracle of life, though sometimes not a
tidy one!

Annual wildflower stems used as mulch

In
Mother Nature’s Backyard we emphasize life-friendly gardening.  We do several things to support the continued
survival of annual wildflowers in the garden.

1. We allow seeds to desiccate on
   the plants.




2. We collect some seeds for
   storage, sharing or propagation. We collect more of the seeds that can be
   over-eaten by birds (Elegant clarkia [Clarkia
   unguiculata], Tidytips [Layia
   platyglossa] and the Goldfields [Lasthena
   species] come to mind).  The remaining
   seeds are allowed to self-sow (naturalize) in bare areas of the garden.




3. When dead plants are finally
   removed, they are used as mulch, further spreading the remaining seeds and
   providing summer mulch.  Because
   ours is a public garden, we try to make our mulch as inconspicuous as
   possible.




4. Some areas of the garden are left
   covered with only a thin organic or inorganic (gravel) mulch.  The mulch helps protect seeds from
   over-predation by  birds.   And the thin mulch allows them to
   successfully germinate.

These
time-honored practices have been followed by Native Californians and sustainable
gardeners for thousands of years.  They
mimic the ways of Mother Nature, providing food for animals and humans, while
helping sustain the plant species.   They
are life-friendly and sustainable.

So
when our tidy-up instincts tempt us to remove plants, we remind ourselves of the
benefits of waiting, just a bit, for seeds to complete their cycles. We look
forward to next year’s wildflowers with hope and expectation.  We hope you’ll consider doing the same in at
least a few areas of your own garden.

 

We
welcome your comments (below).  You can
also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com