It's mid-way through January, which means stores are starting to stock up on the seeds for 2012. Last year, when we started our wildflower garden in the back, I purchased both seeds and plugs for a variety of native plants including: Blue Lupine, False Indigo, Black-Eyed Susan, Butterfly Milkweed, Prairie Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, and a few others. Most of my purchases last year were made at one of three locations: Farm & Fleet, Jung Garden Center, and Kopke's Greenhouse, so I figured I'd start at these stores again in 2012.
For Part 1, I'll address what's available at Farm & Fleet. Farm & Fleet isn't necessarily geared towards landscaping with native plants, but if you carefully comb through their selection you can find some good options for your garden. It's important to note that they did not appear to have their full stock of seeds out yet, as the only brand I could find was Livingston.
I successfully found some seed to supplement my current plants. In case anything I planted last year fails to come back, I figured picking up a few packs of seed would be a good idea. I found the following:
- Butterfly Milkweed
- Black-Eyed Susan
- False Indigo
- Purple Coneflower
I had already identified other plants which I wanted to add to our wildflower garden. Specifically I was planning on adding: Bee Balm, Cardinal Flower, Joe-Pye Weed and Lance-leaf Coreopsis. I was only able to find the Bee Balm and Coreopsis.
I did some digging around to see what else they had, but nothing else really caught my eye. They had a variety of different types of sunflower, many of which are not native to the Upper Midwest, some Lupines in a variety of colors (not blue), Baby's Breath, Cosmos, Foxglove, Bachelor's Button, and Blanket Flower (with Blanket Flower being one of the few natives I noticed).
I also picked up some extras while seed shopping at Farm & Fleet, which will help me get things started for the spring. I picked up some Columbine seed (We had some growing wild, so I figured I'd add some additional plants). I picked up a some soil, some biodegradable pots, and a plastic container to get my seeds started.
I left Farm & Fleet with a lot of stuff, but I hadn't spent much money. This is the reason I often return. I can't always find everything I'm looking for here, but I can usually find some of what I'm looking for and at better prices than what I'll get at a true garden shop. I recommend taking the time to browse their seed selection carefully and find the native plants for which you are looking.
Butterfly Milkweed
Purple Coneflower
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