Grass & Wildflower Seeds

At Blake Nursery, we offer a wide range of grass and wildflower seed mixes to suit your area. Choosing an appropriate seed mix is important and there are many things to consider, for example: How often are you able/willing to water? Will there be much traffic - such as wear and tear from children and pets? What is your soil type?

If you want to go strictly native, picking an appropriate mix is important and we have many to choose from. Often drought-tolerant mixes are not strictly native, but in some situations non-native species are more practical.

The table below describes some of the grass mixes we keep in stock.  We also offer grasses in single species.

Got the Kentucky Bluegrass blues? Read about the benefits of planting alternative lawns here.

Blake Nursery also carries a custom wildflower seed mix which is adapted to Montana growing conditions. This mix includes both annual and perennial species.

How do I start a wildflower meadow?

This is a common question and the answer is...be patient. It may take months before your ground is ready to plant. Start by eliminating all vegetation where flower seeds are to be planted. You could accomplish this by repeated very shallow tilling (avoid deep tilling because it often brings new weed seeds to the surface) or spraying a non-residual herbicide.

When the ground is clear of vegetation prepare the soil as you would a smooth, fine seedbed for grass, getting rid of clods. It's best to sow wildflower seeds in the early spring or fall. Fall works well if the area will receive snow cover in winter, but not so well if the area in winter is dry and exposed to wind. Water will help seed germinate, but do not over-water because this will encourage weed seeds that grow like rockets and overwhelm well-mannered wildflowers. Expect to do some hand weeding the first few years. We like sowing clump forming native grasses with wildflowers because it looks more natural and grasses that grow from rhizomes will eventually choke out the wildflowers.

You may ask yourself, should I fertilize my wildflower meadow? No, wildflowers are best left unpampered. Too much fertilizer and they get leggy and floppy. Wildflowers are used to fending for themselves.