The mound of dirt left from the contractors is about 6-feet wide in places by 3-feet high in places. I think it looks like a naturally formed ridge, with hills & dales. But that's probably not where I'll plant the seeds since the contractor is coming back probably on Monday to level & rake, and by fall hopefully to lay sod. The area where I'll be left with to put the seeds is around the trunk & very large exposed tree roots, where we can't mow near or we'd tear up the blade because of the roots & uneven ground, & where no string trimmer should be allowed to hack away at the bark on the roots & trunk. The seeds are: Adonis aestivalis Calendula officianalis Centaurea cyanus mix Cherianthus cheirii mix Chrysanthemum Shasta Daisy Coreopsis tinctoria mix Cosmos bipinnatus Delphinium consolida mix Dianthus barbatus mix Digitalis purpurea Echinacea purpurea Eschscholzia californica Gypsophila elegans white Linum perenne Lupinus perenne Papaver rhoeas Rudbeckia hirta I know what several of these are (Shasta Daisy, Cosmos, Delphinium mix, Dianthus mix, Purple Foxglove, Purple Coneflower, Baby's Breath, Lupine, Red Poppy, & Black-eyed Susan I think), but I don't know what the others are. I also don't know what the percentage of each is. It's indicated that "No individual component exceeds 5% of total mixture".

Welcome to New England. Another vote for taking inventory for a year before making major changes. Getting someone to ID plants, or taking photos and posting them on the Name that Plant forum will be a good start. (If you do post there, let us know so we can jump in!) Many plants can be ID'd in early spring as they sprout, and woody plants can often be ID'd from winter photos including close-ups of twigs and buds. Also, you can take photos now (before leaves) from your top floor windows or roof to get an overview of layout or measure and make sketches. What plants you have now may influence what choices you make in your ongoing yard and garden plans. For instance hemlocks and pines are both evergreen, but there's an insect, the wooly adelgid, that infests and may kill hemlocks, so which of those trees you have will strongly affect how you decide to manage that part of your yard. (Do you want to deal with pest control if hemlocks are what you have?) Another factor that is much bigger here in New England than in CA is the seasonal changes in light levels. Sun angle, day length, and tree leaves all strongly affect the light levels at different times of year, so what may seem shaded now may get sun in the summer when the sun is higher above the horizon, and places that seem bright now may be shadier once leaves emerge. Photos or sketches will help you keep track of this as well. As others have mentioned, container planting is a great way to get your feet wet. In addition to your zinc planters, you can keep an eye out for other containers - wicker laundry baskets, old buckets or containers from various inexpensive stores or sales, and have containers for sun and shade to move around the yard and dress things up for this year. You can do your veggies and herbs in large containers as well if you'd like until you know where your sunniest areas are. I add a bit of the "water crystals" to my containers and mulch the surface lightly with compost so they don't have to be watered as often. A few things you can do during this year in addition to container planting and taking inventory would include soil improvement of both lawn and garden areas, mulching if needed, getting soil tests done, and starting a compost pile for yard debris. A light mulch (2-3 inches) of organic material like shredded bark or compost on all existing garden beds will cut down on watering and begin improving soil. You may find that your town has a composting program for yard debris where you can pick up compost for free and then use it for mulch or spread lightly on your lawn. I think there was a discussion here in the last year about where to get soil tests done, but if you can't find it, I'm sure another MA resident can help you out. You may be able to take a class at the Arnold Arboretum or one of your local nurseries on pruning, but at the very least get a good book out of the library and a good pair of by-pass pruners and remove dead branches in your shrubs and any branches that are rubbing against another - nothing too severe for now. Start watching sales fliers for yard basics like a lawn mower, a spade, and a leaf rake if you don't have that type of equipment, since often there are preseason sales that will save you money. Both now and once things warm up, you can keep a camera in the car to take photos of yards you like. Since we have so much winter, planning your yard for winter interest is important. If you have photos of layouts or affects you like, it will help you when it comes time to tackle your own yard. Also, you can take photos of particular plants in neighbors' yards or visit some local nurseries or garden destinations to make a list of plants you like. (Arnold Arboretum, Garden in the Woods of the New Eng. Wildflower Society, and Mt. Auburn Cemetary are just a few places in your general neck of the woods that have great gardens.) Good luck! You don't have to tackle you whole yard at once. You can spend this year getting a plan, and then gradually work on putting it in place over the next several seasons. Keep us posted. Here is a link that might be useful: Name that Plant! forum

Hello, I'm new here, I guess this conversation is about a week old--but it interested me. I was thinking-- there is such a huge emphasis on trying to make things the way they were 'natively' or in the past when it comes to plants. Sometimes it seems almost as if planting anything perenial would be 'naughty' somehow. Funny, cuz to me, life isn't about anything if it isn't about change and adapting to whatever comes at you next. And that has been my experience all along. I kind of admire those plants that have made themselves at home in strange places. Also-- going back to the day the world began-- who knows what was native then? I live in a new construction area in North Dakota. The land around me is prairie--I have no idea if it is truly native--likely its been beet fields for awhile prior to my moving here, and was prairie long before that. There aren't exactly bison roaming nearby anymore either, but I do enjoy seeing the giant bunnies and I have found it fascinating to learn about the weather and widlife here in my new home. I am a wisconsin woodland transplant myself. For years I was happily used to the woodsy beauty of my old home--trilliums, jack in the pulpits etc.. Suddenly last fall I came to a place that is all flat, with bright sunshine and wind almost all the time. At first I really didn't know if I would like this. But when spring came and I began to smell the absolutely beautiful perfume in the air and hear all the birds singing--I was thrilled. Now I am hoping they will not cut down all the 'prairie/weeds' in our neighborhood where houses are popping up like weeds on every empty field, so I can keep on smelling and hearing and seeing them. Looking at the weeds here--I don't know how many are native but I'm not native either and I think we'll be happy together. I am considering putting a few of them in my garden--there's a couple of grasses I really like and I found a fabulous looking vetch with some kind of yellow rattle looking flower. I never thought I'd learn to love land that was flat as a pancake--but I like it here and am learning to appreciate the prairie. I hope I won't be too invasive though. ;-)Maryt

Nearly forgot that we had this thread!!! Not updated from last year, but there are some wonderful links here. For those new to the forum, we "bump" this thread to the top periodically so that it is easy to find. Kathy