It all started with a drive......

and some Wildflowers

    I once expressed to my future husband years ago while driving down a country road that I desired to live where the wild flowers grow. Then I asked...where is that? He motioned to the ditches near the roadway we were on. "There is where the wild flowers grow.".... I looked in amazement. Hmmm Maybe he had misunderstood my question because he was pointing out the most common of weeds that grew in this very hot and humid state. The Spanish needles and the lavender skullcaps lined the road on that spring day. "Not those!" I replied. But as we finished that drive home, I have to confess I saw every speck of yellow, pink, white and lavender that was growing among the green grass. Where had they all been before? I never looked at weeds the same again. That Easter I picked hundreds of skullcap's from an unmowed field and placed them in a large vase. I carefully placed a large lavender ribbon around it, and wa—la, It was beautiful. At least to this beholder it was. What I never knew, is when you get that many skullcap together, they smell very good. A nice light sweet fragrance filled the house. I often add our Florida wild flowers to my garden picks now, and when my garden is not in abundance in the fall, yellow Golden Rod and purple Beauty berry look fabulous together in a big mason jar. We have wonderful wild flowers here in Florida. From the Purple Passion vine to  our beautiful Orchids. But the most beauty I see is along the roadsides, in the margins of the drainage ditches, where simple things like Blue eyed grass or pickerel weed is blooming. Alot of the easiest wild flowers to grow here are propagated naturally on disturbed sites. If you happen to live in a area where there are residential lots cleared but not yet built upon. Watch for a single season, the native grasses and wildflowers will surely take hold. It amazes me how quickly Nature changes a landscape by just seed, quicker then if we planted 3 foot trees there ourselves...there is just something...well....natural about letting Nature take root at it's own discretion rather than our own...It is best not to take wild flower plants indiscriminately, some are protected by law, some are on private or state property. But most will germinate if you collect seeds at the end of the season, with permission. Contact your local extension office, they can help you in this matter. They can usually guide you to a nursery that specializes in natives. So this November as you drive along the highways and the country roads...take a look...the wildflowers are blooming!