I think it might be Oenothera parviflora, northern evening primrose, small-flowered evening primrose. Here is a link that might be useful: Oenothera parviflora, northern evening primrose, small-flowered evening primrose

Thank you so much for your guidance. I'll wait until the rains have started. Maybe will put some kind of raised netting over them when we do (it is a small area.)

How about Silene regia for dry sun, or Silene virginica for a somewhat more shaded section? I haven't grown them myself, and I'm not sure they're as easy as some wildflowers, but I don't think they're difficult. They're definitely hummer flowers. Maybe Monarda punctata or Monarda fistulosa would also be possibilities, but probably require some moisture to do well. Like Monardas in general, I've read that fistulosa can get really ratty looking from mildew, but I don't suppose that matters in a wildflower garden. Maybe someone out there has actually grown the Silenes or Monardas from seed and can give you some first hand advice. From your other plant selections, it sounds like you may be dealing with a sunny, dry place. You didn't say where you live, so it's a little hard to come up with geographically appropriate selections. Another thought is Salvia coccinea. Hummingbirds do visit mine, and although I bought them as plants, I know they are not hard to grow from seed. I'm not sure if they're native to the United States, or further south, but they're definitely appreciated by hummingbirds. I don't know if Easy Wildflowers is a good company, but I found them (and many other wildflower seed suppliers!) through google. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Easy Wildflowers.com

My first question is, who owns the ditch? You may have to get the approval of your local government or utility to do any work in this ditch. If you own it then plug away! As others have said, killing the existing vegetation is the first step. Since this is a ditch then I would say erosion is a concern. Therefore tilling is not a good option (though it works well with repeated disking in less erosion prone sites). Also, as others have said, smothering for small areas, herbicide for large areas. I would use an aquatic approved form of Glyphosate, such as Rodeo, Aqua-Neat or Aqua-Master. You will need at least 2 treatments, one to kill the currently living weeds and a second to kill those that emerge after the first ones die. A third treatment may even be necessary. Give it a month between treatments and watch the weather carefully so you don't apply the herbicided when rain is imminent. Sounds like you could put some wet prairie species in the bottom of your ditch and mesic prairie species along the sides. Rake off all the duff that has accumulated from the dead plants. Rake the soil throughly with a garden rake or dethatcher to prepare the soil as a seed bed. Then carefully distribute your seed, being sure not to spread it too thick in some areas and then run out in others! Once on the ground stomp on the or roll over them with something in such a way that will give you good seed to soil contact. This will be more effective if the ground is moist. For erosion prone areas such as a ditch I recommend putting down erosion control matting material after you throw down your seed. If you are only slightly worried about erosion (little overland flow and little to no water flow in the ditch) a S75 material should be fine (That's Straw with a thickness/density rating of 75). If there is a fair amount of surface water run-off or if there is occational flowing water in the ditch, then use SC150 (Straw and Coir (coconut fiber) materials, and thicker). You will need to use landscaping staples to hold this in place, use as directed by your retailer. Once all this is down, you can plant plugs right through the matting if you wish. Cut a hole in the mating with a razor knife, di stick the plugs in. You will need to add a few staples around each hole you cut in the matting to keep it matted down well on the ground. Mixing plugs into a seeded planting is a great way to get some good progress early on (you will probably get at least some flowers in the very first year) with enough native plant material present to create a solid matrix this will cover bare earth and help fend of the influx of new weeds. Good luck.