Best Bulbs for Wildflower Gardeners

Left to Right: "Regal Lily", Wild Tulip Mix, Wild Tulip "Lilac Wonder", Wild Daffodil "Golden Bells", Dwarf Wild Iris Mix.

Shop for Fall BulbsShop for Wild Lilies

For years, experienced wild gardeners have used Fall Bulbs to greatly add to a wildflower meadow's blooming season.  It's simple, really.  In spring, daffodils and tulips are up and in bloom while your wildflowers are just coming out of the ground. This means a whole month or two of earlier color for your wildflower garden.

And spring-planted bulbs add even more during summer.  After all, who wouldn't love some fantastic wild lilies standing tall over the wildflower blooms?

Wild Tulip Persian Pearl

No extra work.  This may be the best part. Once bulbs are planted in your meadow, the work is done. (Even the problem of dying down foliage from tulips, daffodils or lilies is gone. Your wildflower plants simply grow up and hide it all.)   In spring or fall, if you're turning the soil for seeding, what could be easier? While the soil is loose, just pop in the bulbs. And of course, once the bulbs are planted, you're finished. They'll be there year after year with breathtaking color.

Planting the wild tulips and daffodils couldn't be simpler.  Along with species iris and other "minor bulbs," the species tulips and daffodils are smaller than the big beauties we enjoy in our gardens.  And the bulbs are much smaller too.  Most all the "wild bulbs" such as "Persian Pearl," shown above, grow from small bulbs more the size of crocus bulbs than those of tulips and daffodils.  This makes the planting process almost effortless.  You can pop them in anywhere with a trowel.  And remember, they're dependably perennial, so you'll enjoy them every spring from then on.

Naturalizing daffodils in your meadow in fall.  If you're putting in a wildflower garden in fall, probably the biggest time saver of all is to include daffodils in your planting.  They're dependably perennial, and best of all, they're up and blooming well before your wildflowers each year, extending your bloom season for at least a month. We even have "Daffodil and Wildflower Garden Combos," special products we created to make this can't-miss combination an even bigger bargain than buying your seed and bulbs separately.  Our combo gardens are customized for all regions.  The concept couldn't be simpler.  You plant once, and then enjoy a full spring and summer of bloom.

The hard-to-find Wild Lilies.  Since American Meadows is not only a bulb source, but also a major source for wildflower seeds and native plants, each spring we add a list of "species" or wild lilies to our spring bulb selections, some you rarely see elsewhere. For example, one of the ancestors of all our Oriental Hybrid lilies (like Star Gazer and Casa Blanca), is the incredible "Golden-rayed Lily of Japan,"  Lilium auratum, (left) often considered the most spectacularly beautiful lily in the world.  It’s always one of our featured bulbs available. 

Along with others such as the wild "Leopard Lily" from California, the Rose Red Lily, The Regal Lily, Europe's beautiful Martagon Lily, and of course, the original Tiger Lily (shown at right) – they're are in our "Worldwide Species Lily Collection," but also available to buy individually. 

We ship these lily bulbs each spring with special planting instructions so you can enjoy these rare treasures in your wildflower meadow or establish them in other natural areas on your property.   Read more about Planting the Wild Lilies.

From left to right: Tiger lily, L. tigrium or longifolium. Regal Lily, L. regale, Leopard Lily, L. pardalinum, Golden-Rayed Lily, L. auratum, Rose Red Lily, L. speciosum var rubrum, and  Martagon Lily, L. martagon.