Springtime wildflower seeds for mail-order customers

When the warming rains arrive with the spring, wildflowers pop up all over. Rather than growing only wild, they may also be sown generously on hillsides and in isolated canyons, open meadows, forest clearings, backyards, patio flowerpots, and apartment windowboxes.

Some major seed suppliers -- Burpee Seed Company, Gurney's Seed & Nursery Company, Joseph Harris Company, Mellinger's, L. L. Olds Seed Company, and Vaughan's Seed Company -- offer varying selections of wildflower seeds. The following two firms are highly recommended for the choice of wildflower seeds available to mail-order customers:

Environmental Seed Producers Inc., PO Box 5904, El Monte, Calif. 91734. An excellent source of large quantities (a pound or more) of the seeds of 100 wildflowers and several standard mixes. Write for free listing of wildflower seeds and prices. Also available is a ``computer pack'' designed to select the best wildflowers for specific areas of the US.

Clyde Robin Seed Company, PO Box 2855, Castro Valley, Calif. 94546. This company stocks packets of wildflower and other seeds that range in price from 50 cents to $3. There also are wildflower mixes sold by the ounce or pound. Send $2 for large catalog with prices. A descriptive color brochure of wildflowers, without prices, is free.