i would like to order from a company called American Meadows. Any help with the best perennial plants to order would be really helpful.
I am in Zone 6 on Long Island. I have a very large area to cover so I would buy some this year and divide them in the future.
They have a sale on the perennial flowers.
I am afraid to order because I am worried they may not be native.
thanks, cherry

To check for nativeness you need to check the latin name of the species and do some searching on the internet or in field guides. Some nurseries will state which of their plants are native.

As I think a number of people concluded on your butterfly weed thread, you would do well to plant native grasses on the hillside, with flowering perrenials ("forbs") among them. Lots of information on the links there.

If you want to know more about natives, you might consult www.newfs.org, the New England Wildflower Society's site as well as books by William Cullina available from them.

If you haven't done so already I would compost those pumpkins down by the tracks all in one place, rather than on the hillside. It's unlikely they will ever grow a single pumpkin but the seeds are quite fertile and the vines are quite invasive even without fruiting.

I agree with the person who suggesting looking at the New England Wildflower site. A lot of nurseries will tell you things are native even when they are not. *some* will tell you anything to sell their product so it's best to know your stuff and make choices based on solid knowledge rather than the advice of someone trying to make a buck. Also, local wildflower or naturalist societies and universities have native wildflower sales in sping and fall, so watch your local news/internet etc... for such sales and bring a list with you so you get what you are looking for.

Best of luck,

Barb

It looks to me as if your hill was previously forested. Have you thought about planting native shrubs and trees? There roots would help to stablize the bank. Thicket formers like sumac, wild plum, elderberry would help choke out invasive non natives.

Maintaining a meadow on former forest land will mean hand weeding out any shrubs or trees that volunteer and there will be lots.

No i did not think of a forest.

I have a problem with erosion and was trying to plant things with root systems that would hold the soil in place. From what I have read the grasses and native flowers seem to do that best.
The only trees on the site are some sort of hawthorn tree, Aliantus also called the "tree of heaven" (which is a non native invasive weed tree), grape vine which bear no fruit and english ivy which I suspect was planted to prevent erosion.
The soil was eroded due to a high canopy of trees covered in grape vines and not much was thriving at the soil level.

I have since removed the grape vine from the trees and attempted to kill the aliantus trees. I will leave the hawthorn trees.
I put the pumpkins all over the place partly as art, and to water and fertilize some of the things I planted on the hill.
In the future i will have a compost pile and put them all in one place.
Most of the seeds are eaten by the squirrels and birds.

It looks weedy on the hill but some of the stuff is actually just branches and debris from the previous owners. Easier to throw it down the hill then it is to put at the curb.

I did order today from American meadows.. only a few things but in quantity. I also was careful about checking for native status with a secondary source. I did not order any grasses yet. I am hoping to grow bluestem from seed.

Thanks again you all have been very helpful.. i keep forming a plan based on the advice I receive from the Garden Web!

Here is a link that might be useful: The purple house is not mine!

i too use american meadows. and i saw their perennial sale as well.

it sounds like you'll be doing lots of hand weeding if you go that route....i use their perennial wildflower seeds....to cover a bigger area. but it is always hit-or-miss....some plants take better than others.

but this sale is for individual plants....not seed. good luck!

An LIRR embankment,You may want to try eastern red ceaders down at the bottom of the hill since they're more resistent to the herbicide railroads use to clear the tracks of vegetation.They'll tolerate dry sandy and gravelly soil too.I sure you'll find herbicide resistent varieties growing along the tracks up and down the line thriving within the spray zone.I see them all the time when riding the train.

You also want to be careful of the prepackaged wildflower seed mixes. Wildflower and native can be 2 different things.

Following your link, I get this message, This image has been removed or deleted.