English Cottage Garden in California

There was an article in our local San Diego paper, The Union Tribune, that mentioned American Meadows as a source for wildflower seeds. Since we have one of the few English Tudor-style homes in the area, and have been trying to get that English Garden look for 20 years, we decided to try it with your seeds.

We ordered the California Coastal Mix along with some California Poppies and Red Poppy seeds. I hand broadcasted them throughout our garden just prior to the first rain of the season in December of last year. We only get an average of 10 inches of rain per year during our "rainy season", and our total for this year was around 9 inches. Fortunately the storms that we did get were spaced almost exactly a month apart.

Anyhow, I was a little concerned that I had gotten a little carried away when the ground initially looked like I had planted new grass! But after about two months we started, those little seedlings began to bloom! And it has been wonderfully exciting each day since to go out and see the new flowers. I actually made a scorecard from your website's flower species photos to be able to identify all of the players, and I think we've seen every one of the 20 varieties listed on the package.

It's a little embarrassing to admit that I called American Meadows to mention that we hadn't seen any red poppies, and your customer service department promptly sent a replacement packet without charge. About a week later some of the original plants I had been watching burst into a blaze of red. Needless to say my face was the same color.

We've loved taking and sharing photos of our wildflower garden from all angles and up very close and personal.

We’re delighted to share the photos!

Thank you, American Meadows!!

Bill and Lynda Casper, San Diego