In my quest to grow more flowers last year, I picked up a wildflower mix. It is a “Butterfly mix”. A few years ago I think I picked up a Bee-garden mix, and was looking for it again, but could not find it. Along with the butterfly mix, there was also a hummingbird garden mix and an old fashioned garden mix. However, I didn’t get around to sowing the packet. I got distracted by tomatoes.
The seed packet description reads: “The butterfly mixture contains a blend of delightfully fragrant and colorful flowers that attract nearby Butterflies while adding beauty to your garden.”
I thought it would be a good idea to de-code the “contents” names that are only in the latin/botanical name.
- Alyssum maritimum: Sweet Alyssum or Sweet Allison. This is one I’m not particularly familar with. It is a member of the brassica family though, and native to the Meditarinian. Annual
- Calendula officinalis: Calendula, or Pot Marigold. This is a self-seeding annual or a short-lived perennial.
- Centaurea cyanus: Bachelor’s Button or Cornflower. Annual
- Cheiranthus allionii: Siberian Wallflower. Biennial
- Coreopsis tinctoria: Golden Tickseed or Plains Coreopsis. Annual
- Cynoglossum amabile: Chinese Forget-Me-Not. Annual
- Delphinium consolida: Field Larkspur (Until I did some googling, I just expected this one to be regular perennial Delphinium, but according to the internet, it is an annual wildflower variety. Annual (NOTE…. Do not eat or allow any animals to eat. Very Poisonous)
- Dianthus barbatus: Sweet William. Biennial
- Echinacea purpurea: Purple Coneflower, Purple Echinacea. Annual
- Eschscholzia californica: California Poppy. Perennial in warm areas, Annual in colder areas.
- Gypsophila elegans: Baby’s Breath. Annual
- Leucanthemum x superbum: Shasta Daisy. Perennial
- Linum grandiflorum rubum: Scarlet Flax or Red Flax. Annual
- Linum perenne: Blue Flax or Perennial Flax. Perennial
- Rudbeckia hirta: Black Eyed Susan. Biennial (Some warmer areas- Perennial, some colder areas-Annual)
- Silene armeria: Sweet William Catch-fly. Perennial in Zone 5-8, so probably Annual here.
Last year, I also received in the mail the Honey Nut Cheerios “Bring Back the Bees” Wildflower seed mix, And a pack of wildflower seeds from Bees Matter. And just like the pack above, I did not get around to sowing them. I like that the Bees Matter pack included the varieties they included in the pack. I will hopefully get these sown this year as well.
While I appreciate Honey Bees, they are not native here. If they want to come check out my flowers that is awesome, but I am growing them more for ANY pollinators that want to visit, and not just Honey Bees.
