How to plant wildflowers on lawn

Question

I have a bijou patch of grass in front of my house, that for reasons I won't go into has been "mowed" with a strimmer (weed wacker) repeatedly.

The lawn is basically trashed, lots of moss and dandelions. It occurred to me that instead of repairing the lawn to billiard table perfection I could plant wildflower seeds in it. I'm not looking the entirely replace the grass, just have grass and flowers - a tiny meadow.

I have a simple box of wildflower seeds and it says this is the time of year to plant - first raking to a depth of 2 inches then sowing, raking again, and watering - but this assumes bare soil.

What would I need to do differently to plant in among my dandelions and moss (and grass)? What could I skip and still get something popping up - I'm not too sure about easily raking 2 inches into soil full of grass roots for example.

Can I just beat the problem with volume and throw three boxes on the grass and get something?

Answer 1

The thing about purchasing a box of "wildflower" seeds is they are likely to be commercial versions of the wild species. It's not a wild daisy, it's a commercial daisy variety that looks a little like a wild daisy.

So the planting instructions are likely to be specific to the variety in the package. You are likely to get the best results by following the instructions.

Actual wildflowers are usually weeds. They most often are very hardy and will grow in marginal conditions. They will push their way up through grass or other weeds. However, the flowers are usually a lot smaller than the commercial variety.

If you put many more seeds than indicated, the result is likely you get too many plants in one area. You might then need to thin them when they start to grow. If you don't clear the soil before planting, the grass might keep a lot of the seeds from growing properly.