_{Through the ages, Mother Nature has worked alone to splash the countryside with brilliant colours. In 1983, there were very few sources for wildflower seeds and the seeds that were available were prohibitively expensive.}

_{Today, Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, TX where I visited yesterday, lends a hand. The farm’s founder recognized the importance of beautiful wildflowers along the highways and the public’s love of those flowers and turned his turf seeding business into a full-time wildflower farm.}

_{The new company pioneered the practice of planting wildflowers in rows on large acreage and developed machinery to plant and harvest the tiny seeds. The farm has more than 1,000 cultivated acres in Texas and over 200 acres of wildflower fields at its Texas Hill country headquarters outside Fredericksburg. It is the nation’s largest working wildflower farm and has been growing fields of wildflowers for the production of seed for over 35 years.}

_{Visitors can walk the trails and enjoy the flowers, all free of charge, or visit the onsite shop and stock up with seeds or a catalogue.}

_{Although this is not the right time of year to enjoy our famous Texas bluebonnets which make a glorious splash of colour around the middle of April, or the fields and fields of red poppies which are planted at the farm, I am very keen that my next garden will be designed around native Texas plants that can survive the intense and prolonged heat of summer without having to waste water keeping them or acres of grass green!}