e - leaves. The second reason there may not be as many native wildflowers along the highways is because a wildflower seed takes four to six months to germinate. There needs to be optimal conditions. During very wet seasons and/or high precipitation of snow in the previous winter, then we may see more wildflowers, if they are not mowed. More plantings of wildflowers are being planned along the I-76 corridor in the near future.
You might ask, why does the Welcome Center Pollinator Garden have no native grass in it? It sits within a close proximity of native landscape. The Welcome Center Pollinator Garden has both native wildflowers and hybridized flowers. All hybridized flowers are bred/hybridized from native flowers and were their parent plants at one time. This is also a future Citizen Scientist Project to observe and record specific data of the visitation of butterflies and moths on both native and hybridized flowers. We want a slightly more controlled environment and to showcase these flowers against their more native backdrop.
If you would like to volunteer to help CSU Extension and other community volunteers with this garden, we welcome you. If you have questions about the garden, please feel free to call Linda Langelo at Sedgwick County Extension at (970)474-3479. We are here to raise awareness about issues on gardening and environmental science along with Family, Consumer Science, 4H, Agronomy and Weed Science, Water and Community Development. All of our information is research-based information.