Planting wildflowers question....

[Skidmore]

for those of you who do more of this type of gardening. I want to make a border on the back fenceline of my yard using Queen Anne's Lace as the back drop flower. I know this is considered a weed but I love how they look (did you see the planting of them in "The Secret Garden"). I want to combine them with other traditional wildflowers but don't want to mix them, just maintain drifts of them. Something like Queen Anne's Lace, then echinacea, then something else--brown-eyed Susans or tiger lilies. 1) How practical of a scheme is this? 2) Could it get out of control to easily? 3) Any suggestions for other wildflowers to add color variation?

[femmocrat]

1. Cornflowers.... they grow wild here along with the Queen's Anne lace and wild daisies.

Sounds very pretty.

[ginnyinWI]

2. Queen Anne's Lace comes up all over in my flower beds.

I let it stay in some areas--the ones with the daylillies and coneflowers and daisies and black-eyed susans. Looks nice if you like a wild natural look. If the Lace starts to take over, just pull some of them out.

[murphymom]

3. Could be very practical

Depends on what sort of wildflowers you choose. You might want to check with your local native plant society to see what wildflowers are actually native to your area to be sure you get something that will do well without a lot of fuss.

[Botany]

4. wildflowers are my biz ... pm any ?s

plant native flowers, grasses, and legumes ..... Queen Anne's Lace is an invasive weed and should not be planted ....
don't worry it will show up on it's own.

http://www.ionxchange.com/

good source of iowa genotype plants and seeds.

Royal Catchfly, Yellow Coneflower, little Bluestem, New England Aster, Monarda, and White False Indigo are must haves.

[blue neen]

5. Monarda is awesome!

The flowers last for such a long time...and they really attract the hummingbirds and butterflies! :)

[plantwomyn]

6. Keeping everything seperate will be the problem.

Most of the plants suggested here self sow or are invasive, including Queen Anne's Lace. There are edgings that are used for bamboo that will help to keep invasive plants were you put them but the self sowers are going to go with the wind. Which means WEEDING! YUCK!
Give a thought to just planting what you like and letting nature take it's course. All of the suggestions here would look great. I would add Butterfly Weed - Asclepias tuberosa, a medium size Amenome and some spring flowering bulbs.