Think back to spring, when the world was green. Remember the wild flowers along the highway? Lady Bird Johnson, as First Lady, started a highway beautification effort that put those flowers there. In fact, the highway department sows large amounts of wildflower seeds each ear, then delays mowing the resulting flowers until July 15th, when all of them have gone to seed. Now there is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Centre to continue her work.
You can grow your own wildflowers with very little effort. In most cases, because flowers either drop their seed or depend on animals to do so, you can sow the seed right in the dirt. Some flowers, such as bluebonnets, resent being forced into our way of doing things and will die unless we allow them to suffer benign neglect.
However, you can prepare a tilled seed bed, but after you plant the seeds, use a heavy roller to push the seed into firm contact with the earth. You can put a little nitrogen down if you must do something.
The reason you plant seeds in the fall is because they have very tough coverings. These coverings must break down, or scarify, so the plant can grow through the seed. Some people will rub them with sandpaper or use a nail file. These things also work.
In the spring, the seed should sprout and you will have a native garden of wildflowers. The nice thing about this is if you chose flowers native to your area, the plants will be adapted to your amount of rainfall and need very little water. They may need a little help in a severe drought, but will largely be self-sufficient
