Definitely calendula. Calendula are also called "pot marigolds" and are a lovely ornamental herb. It is generally used medicinally but since its flowers are edible, you can see the petals sprinkled in salads or other dishes. Calendula is the odd "hardy annual" - not many of those in the average garden bed. They survive cold temperatures and continue to bloom here in the North until the killing frost finally takes them. But as they are annuals, they only live 1 growing season. Encourage more flowering by removing the spent flowers. But be sure to let some seed heads mature to allow the plants to self-sow or for you to collect seed to plant more. A lovely combo with the beautiful and edible nasturtium. BTW, one of my favorite calendula varieties is the heirloom variety "Solis Sponsa." It is orange with dark centers. Look for it if you end up enjoying calendula alot. FataMorgana

Thanks for the IDs. Since the Motherwort is not native, and has a tendency to be weedy, I pulled it. Jeanne, yes the 2nd one does have thick ridges on the stem. I will watch for when it blooms. Same with the assumed Geum, will watch and see how it grows to figure out which species it is.

The easiest way to do what you're looking for is to go to Bordine's or some other nursery and get a packet of wildflower mix. Sprinkle liberally, tamp down, water and wait; you'll have a nice-looking patch of wildflowers by June. If you want to be more methodical, though, you'll need to do some research. The first thing I'd do is go look up a few seed companies' Web sites and start reading. Since I'm a fan of heirlooms and lesser-known varieties, my favorites are Renee's Garden, Botanical Interests and Seed Savers Exchange. Your other option is to spend some quality time at your public library and look up books on gardening. Write down the names of plants you're interested in, then hit the nursery. Based on the conditions you described, you'll be looking for plants that will tolerate shade to part shade, hardy to Zone 4. (Everybody says we're Zone 5 here, but sit through one good April ice-storm and you'll reconsider.) Another thing to consider is what you want your flowers to do. Do you want perennials or annuals? Are you particularly set on attracting butterflies or birds? Do you want drought-resistant species, or those tolerant of poor soils? Write down your needs and look for flowers that match them. As a sample, I've included conditions in my own yard and some of the flowers we grow. Hopefully you'll find it useful. Soil: Base soil is mostly clay and quite alkaline; several years' amending with organic matter and mulching have improved planted areas to heavy topsoil with neutral pH. Light: Back yard is partial shade to full shade; front yard is full sun. We wanted: Flowers that could tolerate a variety of conditions. Butterfly and bird attractors a plus. Plantings: Agastache/Lavender Hyssop - tolerates poor soil, attracts bees and butterflies Amaranth, "Love Lies Bleeding" Asclepias, "Monarch Red" - attracts Monarch butterflies Bachelor Button, "Black Magic" - tolerates poor soil, attracts butterflies Coreopsis, "Double Sunburst" - full sun only, attracts butterflies Heliotrope, "Marine" - tolerates shade, attracts butterflies Nasturtium, "Whirlybird" Nigella, "Oxford Blue" - tolerates poor soil Scabiosa, "Fire King" - attracts butterflies Stock, "Starlight Scentsation" - attracts butterflies Sunflower, "Italian White - tolerates poor soil, full sun only, attracts birds Sunflower, "Evening Sun" - tolerates poor soil, full sun only, attracts birds Zinnia, "Cut and Come Again" Again, good luck, and welcome to the group!

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.