The orange lily is an Asiatic Daylily. They are common in gardens and have escaped all over the northeast US. They don't spread by seed. Instead you could just dig up a few plants making sure to get the root which is a tuber. The second plant looks like Queen Anne's Lace. The flowers will turn brown at which point you can cut the flower head and shake out lots of seeds. This is easy to grow, and in fact is probably srouting in your garden already. THe first year the plants grow a bit like a dandelion but with very lacy leaves. They flower in their second year of growth. The third is in the pea and bean (legume) family. I am not sure what species it is. The smaller yellow ones were probably Birdsfoot trefoil, which is an agricultural crop similar to alfalfa or clover that commonly escapes to grow wild. The vine sounds like a Morning Glory. There are many wild species. Jerusalem Artichoke is a wild sunflower and could be the plant you see. Ther are other similar species of wild sunflower too. I think all are great garden plants. They will spread so give them some room, but they are easy to grow and flower from July thru September. If you are searching for info on a plant, try a search enginer like Google. Go to Google.com and enter the name of the plant. You'll get thousands of pages for almost any plant as long as it is spelled correctly.

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

Hi, For the benefit of creating a useful list... Which of these native grasses/sedges (Poales) will spread ENDLESSLY, if given the chance to do so, via roots (to form a clonal stand)? Any if it does, would the stand, theoretically, be without a life end expectancy, as long as not succeeded over? *Sedges: Carex brevior, C. cephalophora, C. crinita, C. pensylvanica (I know will), C. radiata, C. sprengelli, C. sprengelii, C. squarrosa *Spikerushes: Eleocharis acicularis (I know will), E. palustris (assume the same) *Grasses and oats: Agrostis hymemalis, A. perennans, Andropogon virginicus, Bouteloua spp., Chasmanthium latifolia, Elymus hystrix, Eragrostis spectabilis, Panicum rigidulum, Poa palustris, Schizachryium scoparium (I believe so, but maybe just forms a clump of limited span?), Sorphastrum nutans, Sporobolus heterolepis, Tridens flavus Thanks, S

Heavy plastic and products such as BioBarrier which combines a physical barrier with a slow release chemical that inhibits root growth should work for some time if installed very carefully. That means a lot of digging, removal of any stones that may cause tears, not even a pinhole size puncture, close attention to the surface where the barrier overlaps the existing soil. Even if done perfectly, I would not bet against plants with ultra aggressive root systems such as Norway maple or many species of bamboo. These will attempt to exploit the tiniest opening and try to go over, under and around any barrier. Things may be fine for 5 years or 10 years, but then... Special in-ground pots for bamboo used to be sold. They were made from heavy plastic and had an internal shape that allegedly kept the bamboo confined. How well they worked or if they are still available I don't know, but it might be worth checking.