Big beds of golden California poppies mixed with wallflower, johnny jump-up, gaillardia and purple coneflower that seemed to care for themselves. As far as I know, those wildflowers are still growing on Elm Street in Redwood City. Wildflowers have never been out - es pecially never in California gardens. Unlike roses and tomatoes that need careful nurturing, wildflowers sprawl carelessly through the garden, coexisting with other flowers and spreading their seeds to assure another year of bloom. They attract song birds, butterflies and beneficial insects.
Some wildflowers are edible, some are fragrant, most make it on their own without human assistance.
The conventional wisdom is to ''wait until after the first rain'' to sow wildflower seeds. But Steve Atwood of Clyde Robin Seed Co. says that's not really good advice when the rains are late, as they are this year. Instead, he says, ''sow seeds by mid-November at the latest. Cover the seeds lightly, but don't water them. Covering the seeds very lightly with planting mix anchors them.