September and October are the best months for gathering the grasses, but flower seeds can be gathered throughout the growing season. She grows some wildflowers in pots in a greenhouse, moving them into bigger pots as needed, while growing others in fields. The Hamiltons have 30 acres of flowers, most in fields that they totally cleared before planting native flora in them. It is easier to start plants in a new field, they say, than to fight all the competing weeds and grasses in an old field. Growing flowering plants in fields is less labor-intensive than using a greenhouse.
Native wildflowers are different from domestic plants in a couple of ways.
She says the best time to plant wildflower seeds is in December and January because they need to be cold and wet for up to eight weeks to break their dormancy. Bare roots should be planted in March or early April. The existing vegetation at your planting site must be killed ahead of time, and you may need to work on that as much as a year ahead of planting. The Hamilton's favorite flowers included purple poppy mallow, button blazing star and royal catchfly. It really lights up when the sun shines on it.