Wildflowers combine gentle beauty and unfussy hardiness and have become a common choice to brighten up areas where regular maintenance is challenging. Our wildflower mix is specially formulated to thrive in the cool Eastern Canadian climate here in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland and is made up of annual, biennial, and perennial varieties. Depending on planting time, perennial and biennial flowers may not produce blossoms until the second season. Annuals will provide colour in the first season and, if not cut back, will self-seed and return next year in greater numbers.

For a more natural meadow look, our wildflower mix is also available with added sheep’s fescue. These grasses will help to prevent soil erosion until the flowers are large enough to stabilize the soil by themselves.

What's In The Halifax Seed Eastern Canadian Wildflower Mix?

Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila elegans)
Bachelor's Button (Centaurea cyanus)
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Blue Flax (Linum lewissi)
Catchfly (Silene armeria)
European Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Gayfeather (Liatris spicata)
Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
Maltese Cross (Lychnis chalcedonica)
Perennial Lupine (Lupinus perennis)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Russell Lupine (Lupinus polyphylus)
Scarlet Flax (Linum rubrum)
Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum)
Siberian Wallflower (Cheiranthus allionii)
Spurred Snapdragon (Linaria maroccana)
Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)
Tall Lance-Leaved Coreopsis (Coreposis lanceolata)

How To Determine Wildflower Seed Coverage

Coverage rates for wildflower mix:

10g Covers ~ 65 sqft / 6m2
25g Covers ~ 165 sqft / 15m2
125g Covers ~ 825 sqft / 75m2
500g Covers ~ 3300 sqft / 300m2
1kg Covers ~ 6600 sqft / 600m2 

Coverage rates for wildflower mix with fescue:

25g Wild Flower Seed & 125g Sheep’s Fescue Covers ~ 250 sqft / 25m2
50g Wild Flower Seed & 250g Sheep’s Fescue Covers ~ 500 sqft / 45m2
125g Wild Flower Seed & 500g Sheep’s Fescue Covers ~ 1000 sqft / 90m2 

Choosing A Location For Your Wildflower Garden

While a cultivated wildflower meadow may look like a dazzling natural display, it does require work to establish properly. The ideal site should suit the natural and casual look of wildflowers and be relatively weed-free. If the desired site is growing grass, this is a good sign that wildflowers will survive and thrive. If the site is barren of grass and weeds, amendments will be needed to improve soil fertility and moisture retention before wildflowers can thrive.

To get the most blooms and the healthiest flowers, most wildflower species require a sunny location that receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day. If your chosen location is shady, the plants and blossoms may be smaller and weeds may crowd out the flowers.

Preparing and Planting Your Wildflower Seed 

Seed-to-soil contact is vital for seed germination and proper rooting, so your planting site must be cleared before sowing. The best results occur when planting on bare soil so your seedlings don't need to compete with weeds for nutrients, water, and sun.

Weed control can be one of the biggest challenges when establishing a wildflower garden. Weeds should be removed by hand whenever possible to avoid disturbing the root systems of young wildflower seedlings. If your chosen planting site hosts a dense population of weeds, then a two-stage removal may be necessary. Begin by removing the existing vegetation using a tiller and hand weeding. Once the soil is bare, keep the site well-watered for several weeks and allow any weed seeds left behind to germinate. Repeat the first step to remove the weed seedlings and help reduce the number of weeds that will pop up in your wildflower garden in the future.

Once the majority of vegetative material has been removed, lightly rake the surface of the soil to loosen the top layer. Most wildflowers don't require much added fertilizer, but in particularly infertile areas you can add compost or all-purpose fertilizer to increase the available nutrients.

Because of the different sizes of the seeds in our wildflower mix, it can be easier to use a carrying agent like sand or vermiculite to ensure an even spread. Mix at a ratio of 2:1 carrier to seed. For small areas, broadcast seed by hand or using a handheld spreader. For larger areas, the wildflower seed may be sown with the use of a broadcast spreader. Once the seed has been sown, lightly rake the area to cover the seed with 1/8” of soil. It's important to ensure that the seed is not buried too deeply as this can delay or prevent seed germination.

Once the seed has been planted, keep the soil moist for 4-6 weeks. If the site you have chosen has no water supply it's best to sow your seeds in the spring, preferably before a rainfall; this will allow several weeks of growing before the heat of summer. Once established, wildflowers are quite drought-tolerant. Seeds may also be sown in the late fall, after a few hard frosts have passed. The seeds will remain dormant in the soil throughout the winter as long as the temperature remains low, and will germinate once the soil warms in the spring.

Caring For Your Wildflower Garden

Yearly maintenance is the key to healthy, hardy wildflower gardens. There are four main areas of maintenance to consider: weed control, reseeding, fertilization, and fall mowing.

Keep up with weed control by removing undesirable plants as soon as you spot them. Once your wildflowers are established they will be quite hardy, but in the first few years it's especially important to stay on top of weeding to ensure your flowers aren't struggling for nutrients and water or being shaded out by taller weeds. 

In soils with poor fertility, a yearly application of an organic fertilizer such as Power Bloom or 8-12-6, will help encourage continual flowering. It's best to apply fertilizer after weeding, as whatever fertilizers the wildflowers also fertilizes the weeds.

Reseeding an established wildflower garden may involve the addition of a few new varieties to add continual interest, adding new annual flower seed, or fully reseeding any bare patches or areas where weeds have established. The addition of annuals, seeded in spring, will add fresh colour throughout the summer. When reseeding, remember to keep the newly planted seed moist for at least 4 to 6 weeks. Keep in mind the height, spread, and colour of new varieties to maintain visual interest and avoid planting varieties that will be too short to be visible. 

If you prefer a neat appearance, a yearly fall mowing after the majority of the plants have gone to seed helps to spread the seed for future flowers. To achieve this, the plants should be mowed to a height of 4-6” around the middle of October. Alternatively, you can leave your wildflowers intact to provide a habitat for overwintering pollinators and a food source for local critters throughout the winter.