This Week in Wildflower Gardening

The Wildflower Wave has crashed ashore in California. All up and down the Pacific coast, the hills are alive with...wildflowers. Check out this site from last year at this time for some of the most incredible photos of flowers in the wild you'll ever see. A Hike around Antelope Valley, CA. This famous wildflower preserve is just a few miles north of Los Angeles.

Take a quick trip to Greece! I've discovered a fantastic website created by a Norwegian man named Jan Bergtun. The Site is called Island Strolling, and is a scrapbook of trips to many magnificent Greek Isles and other sites over the last few years. Mr. Bergtun and his family have visited often, and it's all here--beautiful photos and great tips on everything from travel to wildflowers. The homepage has a great musical treat when you arrive, and this photo shows Anne Grete, in a field of red poppies they discovered near the Larissa Fortress, a Crusader castle above the city of Argos. Since red poppy is our most popular species at AmericanMeadows.com, it's great to see it in its native land, a huge area that stretches from the Middle East all the way to England. Visit Mr. Bergtun's site and enjoy many other great photos of wildflowers, butterflies, and...cats...from his travels in Greece.

While the Pacific coast bursts into bloom, the Gulf Coast is also in full flower with native shrubs and trees. Member and plant expert Betty Anne Theobald writes from Pensacola, FL, that azaleas are now ablaze there, and the dogwoods are beginning to open.

As of now, we have a great new way for members to save big on 1/4 lbs. of Red Poppy, Orange Cosmos, Blue Cornflower and Baby's Breath. Here's how it works. Now if you buy a lb. or more of any Regional Mix, you're offered our new Discount Page where you can buy these favorite species at up to 50% off. Enjoy!

Here comes spring, finally. And while the spectacular coastal hills in California light up with incredible wildflower color and Texas gets ready to burst into bloom, the east isn't completely "flowerless." In Boston just today the news is snow. But longtime member and plant expert, Hal Corson in Columbia, SC, emails that the Bradford Flowering Pear trees in South Carolina are now in full bloom (photo). These great beauties may not bear fruit, but what they can do for our spirit after a cold winter may be even better!

The flowering pears are just the beginning for Southerners, since in just a short while, the even more spectacular show of dogwoods and azaleas the Southeast is famous for will take the spotlight. New Englanders can only dream about the lovely, long spring enjoyed in the Deep South, which runs from March all the way through May.

Gardeners who own his best-selling books will immediately know that this incredibly beautiful photo is by Roger Phillips, the famous UK-based rose photographer. It is just one of several we've licensed for the enjoyment of our members this season, so stay tuned for more. This photo does a wonderful job showing off the real beauty of "wild form" roses, and the great results wildflower gardeners can have with the carefree roses in our new listing of roses, trees, and shrubs on the site this spring. To see the most beautiful collection of rose photos in the world, just go to Roger's site, RogersRoses.com

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center near Austin, TX has announced that their annual "Wildflower Days" Festival begins March 20. This major group of wildflower events goes on for weeks, and coincides with the incredible big bloom of the Texas wildflowers at and around the Wildflower Center. Plan a trip; the Lady Bird Center is a wonderful place. Here's their web link for constantly updated details: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

One Member's Meadow: Sharon Burke



We just received a CD filled with beautiful photos of Sharon Burke's wildflowers from last summer. Sharon gardens in Michigan, and planted several wildflower species last year. As the photos show, she has a beautiful waterside setting for some of her wildflowers, and has made great use of it. Thanks Sharon! We really appreciate you sharing your beautiful photos with us and our members.