Flowers in the Lawn

Glory-of-the-snow in the lawn

Would you like to have flowers in your lawn in the springtime?

Of course you would!

And you can.

It’s easy.

Just order some corms for crocuses, Crocus tommasinianus is preferred over other crocuses, and some bulbs for glory-of-the-snow, Chionodoxa luciliae.  I like to order them as soon as they start selling them in late spring, early summer.  I usually don’t get charged for them until they ship them in the fall and I don’t have to worry they will sell out before I reserve mine.

When the corms and bulbs arrive in the fall, plant them in the lawn.  These are small corms and bulbs so it doesn’t take much to plant them.

The next spring… just like that, flowers in the lawn.

I should warn everyone, once you plant flowers in your lawn, you should refrain from using any herbicides because they’ll kill the flowers over time.  This means, of course, that you will get some wildflowers growing in your lawn, including dandelions.

Dandelion with crocus foliage

I don’t mind dandelions. Other than a few weeks in the spring, no one notices the dandelions, other than the bees. The bees love dandelions in early spring.

You will also likely end up with clover in your lawn. Consider clover in your lawn a blessing, even if you never find one with four leaves. Not only does clover attract bees, it also is one of the legumes that fixes nitrogen in the soil, which helps to fertilize the lawn grasses.

And you might end up with some violets in your lawn. I love violets in my lawn.

You might wondering if all these flowers will choke out the actual lawn grasses.  That’s not likely to happen, especially if you follow the advice of “mow high”. Taller lawn grasses will compete quite well with dandelions, violets, and other wildflowers.

You might also wonder if squirrels and chipmunks will find and eat all your bulbs and corms. They might. In my own lawn, though, they haven’t eaten all of them but I can’t say they haven’t eaten a few of them. But I’ve planted so many flowers in my lawn, I think it would take a herd of squirrels and chipmunks to wipe out all the flowers.

I see no downside to flowers in the lawn.

Crocus in the lawn in late winter

Do you?

I didn’t think so.

Plan to plant some in your lawn next fall.