How to Make a Scatter Garden

Choose a site for your scatter garden that has full sun exposure and excellent drainage. Avoid areas where water pools for weeks at a time. You should sow the seeds in autumn in most areas, or in late spring if you live in a climate with heavy snow or temperatures well below zero during the winter months.

Weed the planting site thoroughly and also remove any sticks, stones or other debris. Try to remove as much of the weedy root matter as possible so weeds won't return.

Set the blades of a rotary tiller to cultivate at a depth of 6 inches. Make multiple passes across the planting site until the soil is loose and friable and all large chunks of earth have been broken up.

Spread a 4-inch-thick layer of rotted manure compost on the site. Work the compost into the soil using the rotary tiller. Keep cultivating the soil until it appears uniform.

Select a variety of flower seeds suited to your climate, such as native wildflowers. Choose three or four different varieties with compatible moisture requirements. Combine 1 part seeds with 2 parts fine sand, which will make the seeds easier to spread. Mix them in a bowl until the mixture takes on a uniform appearance.

Scatter large pinches of the seed and sand mixture across the prepared bed. Try to spread it as evenly as possible, but don't worry if it's not perfect. Keep scattering the seeds until the entire bed is covered.

Gently pull a rake across the bed to integrate the seeds into the surface of the soil. Rake in a crisscross pattern to successfully sow the seeds.

Run a lawn sprinkler on the scatter garden for 10 to 15 minutes after sowing the seeds. Water again one week later. Do not water the seeds again after the second watering unless the season is very dry and no rain falls for three weeks or longer.

Watch for germination in spring once the soil warms to 68 degrees for two or three weeks in a row. Perform light weeding, as needed, to keep the scatter garden looking its best.