Mimeo HO 72-3
Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Lafayette, Indiana
WILD FLOWERS--A FEW FAVORITES
E. R. Honeywell, Department of Horticulture
Indiana has an abundance of beautiful wild flowers and native plants. The proper place to enjoy them is in their natural habitat. But many are well suited to home gardens, city parks and school grounds, provided each species is supplied with its natural environment. This is very important for some species can only exist under certain conditions. Some plants require wet places, such as swamps and bogs. Others prefer shady areas, slopes, ravines, rocky or sandy knolls, sunny or semi-sunny places. Soil type and soil reaction (acid or alkaline) may also greatly affect their response.
Many home grounds may have an area where grass and the usual kinds of garden flowers are either difficult to grow or fail to give the desired effect. These waste areas include a steep terrace, bare ground beneath shrubs and trees, the area behind the garage, a strip beyond the service drive or along the back fence. With a little care,
these areas can be made very suitable for native plants. The planting should be in nature-like masses, not in straight lines, circles or formal beds.
Native plants may be obtained in two ways-(1) by securing seeds or plants from nurseries now specializing in such plants or (2) by gathering them, by permission only, from their natural habitat. The first method generally proves less costly and more satisfactory, and it does not aid in depleting the natural supply.
Fall seeding of most wild flowers is recommended for this is nature’s way. Plants purchased from nurseries should be planted according to the nursery's recommendations. Never dig native plants from woodlands and meadows during their blooming period.
Spring flowering kinds are best transplanted in the fall and fall flowering kinds in early spring.
Botanical and common name	Flowering season	Remarks
Amorpha canescens (Leadplant)	Tune and July	Common in dry, sandy or gravelly soil on knolls and ridges, along roadsides or in open woodlands of northwestern Indiana. There are several species.
		
Anemone virginiana (Tall Anemone)	June to August	Found rather frequently in woodlands throughout the state. It generally prefers a rather dry soil on woody slopes.
Arisaema dracontium (Dragonroot)	May and June	More or less common throughout the state, growing in shady, moist soils.