Every now and then, you’ll come across an image of a gorgeous flower that you simply must have in your yard. You scan the photo and rush off to your local garden center. As you scour the racks and racks of pretty plants on offer, your enthusiasm wavers because you just can’t find the plant you’re looking for. You even take the photo to one of the knowledgeable staff members, but to no avail. This rings true for many native wildflower species and is definitely the case with an endearing fast-growing spring flower known as the desert bluebell (Phacelia campanularia). The reason you can’t find this delightful plant at the garden center is because it’s best grown from seed. This means you’ll just need to find some seeds and grow it yourself instead. It makes a stunning native alternative when you want to stop growing invasive grape hyacinth.

Desert bluebell is an annual spring flower found growing naturally around the dry, sandy deserts of California. The seeds will usually germinate in the fall and grow their round or oval leaves on reddish stems throughout winter, especially if there’s plenty of rain. As soon as the soil starts to warm up, you won’t have to wait too long for the brilliant blue flowers to start making an appearance. These blooms are bell-shaped and grow in clusters on 16 inch stems, which will persist through spring to fill your garden with the most striking blue hues.

To enjoy these pretty flowers at home, you’ll need to sow the seeds in late summer or early fall, so they can sprout and grow through the wet season, and be ready to bloom once spring arrives. While the seeds don’t need any special treatment, they should just be scattered on top of the soil and not covered, because they need light to germinate. If you don’t get a lot of rain through winter, be sure to keep the young plants watered. You also don’t have to amend the soil as long as it drains well, because these plants will thrive in sandy or gravelly soils. Just make sure you remove any weeds before sowing the seeds. If you’re not familiar with growing these types of plants, you might want to learn the best technique for growing wildflowers from seed. 

Once your desert bluebells are happily growing and delighting you with their outstanding blooms, there’s not much you need to do except enjoy the way they attract pollinators to your yard. You can leave the flowers to dry and produce seed capsules. The seeds will drop to the soil and new plants will come up again and again in your wildflower patch. Alternatively, you can cut off the seed capsules and save the seeds to sow elsewhere in the garden, if you wish. Once you’re hooked on growing wildflowers, you’ll be delighted to know that this relaxed gardening trend is actually replacing formal landscapes all around the country.