Is Frilled Puccoon the same as Fringed Puccoon? The Prairie Smoke is a gorgeous plant. I would love to have a field of them. Can you imagine? The Flame Acanthus is very pretty. I love that the foliage stays nice all summer in this drought, too. It just keeps on trucking no matter what. I wonder how it will do in a wet year - like we get a lot of those. 2007 was the only one I recall ever. I have a new Salvia darcyi and it is bloomin' like crazy this year - not a native, but tolerate heat and drought pretty well. Well, except for Black & Blue, which likes its regular watering. I am having such a horrible problem with Southern Pink Moth this year, that I almost want to give up on them, though. They really cause a lot of damage, and the blooms get eaten, too. I dare not spray due to my "butterfly friendly" environment. They seem to have taken up residence in my garden, and spraying or sprinkling BT is not an option. Black & Blue they adore, and they have also taken a loving to 'Lady in Red'. So far, they have not eaten much of S. darcyi, so maybe they don't prefer it. I haven't been able to water as much as I would like this past month or so due to daughter's illness. Still, all has survived. The Verbesina encelioides has marched on thru the drought. I keep hoping for Bordered Patch butterflies, but have barely had any butterflies this year. The Flame Acanthus is host to the Texan Crescent butterfly, but none of those this year either. My natives that really suffer without water and the extreme heat are False Nettle aka Boehmeria cylindrica (for the Red Admirals), Ptelea trifoliata, a native small tree, host for Giant Swallowtails, my new plants, Dooryard Plantain or Plantago major (Buckeyes), Verbesina alternifolia or Wingstem, Hibiscus coccineus, Buttonbush or Cephalanthus occidentalis, and Liriodendron tulipifera. or Tulip Tree, Wild Cherry tree (Prunus serotina), and Lindera benzoin or Spicebush, which completely died. Some of these most folks would not plant, so I don't often mention them as suggested natives to grow. However, they are butterfly and/or moth nectar and host plants that I continue to struggle with. The Spicebush is one I have attempted 3 times now, and probably will not try again. But other members of this family (Lauraceae) are difficult, too, so there is not really a good alternative. Is anyone planning to do any fall plantings? Susan

I don't know which species to suggest, since you have posted to a site used mostly by americans and my experience is in the US. However, once you have determined which wildflowers are suitable for your site, I would recommend that you consider putting plants in the field instead of sowing seeds. Sowing seeds in a field with established grasses and other plants probably will not work well. I would select a few types of wildflower that are suited for the climate and location, which are perennial, and which will spread by themselves once established. I would obtain plants from a source in France, and put the plants in the field in a location that is suitable, and position them so they look like they have grown there naturally. Winter and spring are good times to do this. Hopefully, the plants will thrive and spread. AS you become more experienced, you can plant a wider variety of species until your fields have the number and variety of wildflowers you would like.

Mixes are a bunch of stuff thrown together. I do that sometimes but most often the best way to garden is to plan what we want and just buy plants. Yes it costs a little bit more to buy an already growing seedling or sapling, but it is a lot more likely to succeed. With seed mixes: if we sow outdoors we have less control over what we get or how it is laid out. But.....sometimes the results are spectacular. We had a large bush breaking up a front planter and upon taking it out: just planted some Plantation Products wildflower mix and have a few pretty clusters of Chrysanthemums, Daisies, Poppies, and Cornflowers. Cant say that I am not pleased. The real problem with the mix is that not all of the plants have the same needs for soil, water or light and the downside is that we tend to care in a way that only favors some of the plants which thrive while others just do not survive. Of course the advantage is that we can get a wider variety of color and blooms during more of the year with minimal effort. I suggest that everyone try a mix at least once (if not a few times) early in gardening and see what you get. Even though I have done them before, I still enjoy a mix sometimes. It is a fun way to learn flowers and plants that we otherwise might not try and it is also fun to be the only one on the block with certain colors or types of flowers. I grow flowers to supplement beauty of our home and as a bonus to give the bees in the area some variety and desire to come visit our herb garden! (We spoil the bees at our home).

I am 3 yrs in to a similar project to what you plan to do. Establishing a tallgrass prairie (1/2 -2/3 of a acre) on our property in the country. We have a heavy deer population in our area as we live next to a large block of land that does not allow hunting. I maintain firebreaks through, and around, the entire area. This way I can kill off and plant one small area at a time. Also, when burning, I can burn one or two areas without burning the entire prairie. One thing I am doing differently is actually planting young plants. I winter sow them in containers over the winter to stratify the seed and then plant them out when they are big enough over the course of the summer and fall. Big job, over 1000 plants so far, but that's another story. Back to the deer. From my experience, with over 100 species of forbs and grasses native to the midwest, the deer are a BIG problem. They will not touch any of the sedges or grasses, but, they will eat just about any new growth on forbs...especially this time of year (in the spring). Here, there are certain plants they will devour at any stage of growth - asters, oenothera, and all of the native legumes. I have several dozen small cages I've made from 2' and 3' fencing and I put these over small seedlings as I plant them out - I keep them in place with long landscape staples. After they become established I remove the cages and use them on new plantings. The one thing I've not heard anyone talk about is where they walk. I have lost more plants to them crushing small plants than I have to plants they have browsed too heavily. This could be a problem in your case, not planting seedlings and sowing seed? Make sure to plant at least 50% grasses, not only will deer leave these alone, but they will be the backbone of your project. Not gonna lie, it's going to be tougher than you think it will - woody vegetation, weeds, deer, weather, etc. - but, it is very rewarding. Amazing, the variety of wildlife we see enjoying our tallgrass prairie area.