The first full week of May is widely celebrated as National Wildflower Week. With wildflowers blooming in lawns and fields across the country, early May is the perfect time for flowers to blossom and show their lovely colors. Some wildflowers to watch out for in Alabama include the Spurred Butterfly Pea, Cardamine, the Carolina Lily and the Prickly Pear Cactus.

Wildflowers have a history of being useful in several different ways. Before modern medicine, wildflowers were used for medicinal purposes. Native Americans used them to make pastes that healed wounds and concoctions to heal other illnesses. Specifically the purple coneflower used widely as a way to cure a common cold.

Wildflowers are also great ways to keep nutrients in your soil. The roots from wildflowers anchor in the soil and help trap and nutrients that might have been washed away in the rain. The added nutrients improve the soil health and help the plants around it. Wildflowers are great for keeping water nutrient rich for the soil and helps prevent erosion from occurring.

Another benefit from adding wildflowers to your garden or flower bed is that they provide a beautiful, rich pop of color. The range of colors and shades are intense and can make any patch of earth seem full and lively with colors. The bright colors also attract more pollinators and  insects that bring much needed pollen to your garden. Wildflowers not only attract bees, but butterflies and other critters like hoverflies and ladybugs.

Whether you pick seeds from the heads of wildflowers you see outside or purchase packets of seeds from your local plant store, wildflowers are a very wise choice to make for the health and benefit of your garden.