Thanks for the link... love that they have both the common names and the scientific names,

Texas Ranger, this native plant sale has an impressive list. Figures they are offerring Texas milkweed which I crave. I noticed they had your favorite plant, wild poinsettia. Do load up on that one lol. Mara, thanks for the music tips. I've had a few epiphanies already!

I can do one native plant sale a fall. It is a toss up between this, the Lady Bird Johnston wildflower Center and the San Antonio Botanical center for this fall. ALL are impressive. I have gone to the LBJ one a lot, so I was thinking about branching out and doing something different. There are a few things on the list that have not been at the LBJ one. Also LBJ is on the day of my SA plant swap and I can't miss that orgy of free plants where I also bring home native and seeds of unattainable natives from some friends.. LOL. I guess I could pop for the membership and go the day before. It is all goes to a good cause and god knows I have used their data base enough to warrant the membership. The Plant list for the LBJ sale has not been posted yet. It is HUGE, but many of the plants I already have or are for wetter situations. SA will be fore a warmer situation so I need to be wary and educated when I go.

* @ Jay, here are a few more; Ray Wily Hubbard, Caroline Wonderland and Ruthie Foster.

You are so fortunate to get all these perks for living in Texas. I suppose most of the plants are more for your zone anyway. That John Fulbright guy is awesome. Hands down the best guitar/harmonica player I've ever seen. Way,way better than Dylan. I saw Dylan when he had that band. They played with the Dead ,post Jerry Garcia. Kind of a blur, but I remember a fist fight and they were selling Greek shish ka bobs. And there were a lot of deadheads in dreadlocks. Never could understand why anyone would want hair that looks and feels like steel wool.

Because of our weather and constant water rationing, Texans have been planting natives for a long time. Ladybird helped in our addiction just a tad too. NPSOT is a great organization here. I don't know what it is like in other state but , here, it is very active. Their Master Naturalist program is drool worthy.

* john Fulbright grew up in the same town Woodie Guthrie came from. The first time I heard him was in a friends attic at a Christmas party. Ray Whiley Hubbard brought him over. He was just a babe out of high School and just putting on the finishing touches on his first album.

You met him? Cool! Afaik there aren't any autumn native plant sales in my area. I'm one of the wild ones ( in more ways than one) now so I'll get discounts on natives at the spring sale, and they have a pot luck seed swap in November. Most of my natives are at my old place, so I need to get off my butt and start collecting seeds. I think it would be a treat to attend any one of those 3 sales. You should indulge yourself Mara you deserve some special treats!

I've never been, but there's a couple that are highlighted as being available for their fall sale that I wouldn't mind having, and the park is close to my house, but does anyone know what size plants they ordinarily sell? I'd rather have larger specimens, not four or five inch pots.

Texas has Oklahoma beat on native plant appreciation and sources by miles but then around these parts most people think of prairies as being "out there where there ain't nothin but a whole lot of nuttin' to look at" and they can't wait to plant Bermuda grass over it when they build ever wider housing additions and add all that "gooder" stuff like Miscanthus grass, imported trees, tame perennials, typical low growing annuals and shrubs. The common opinion seems to be "Oklahoma needs more trees and rose bushes." because hey, all that flat nothing is boring to look at and there's no shade.

My only local gettin'-places are often the roadside and the rest has been done with trades except for every now and then when I run into something for sale which is not ever these days since I quit shopping for plants retail quite some time back. We don't have a Lady Bird in Oklahoma. What we have, it seems, is a bunch of politician's wives naming a hybrid tea-rose developed by a Japanese as our state flower.

I might as well get even grippier along with a risk of insulting someone by saying I can't stand country western music, I mute it on local TV commercials. I suppose the big noise around here would be Travis Tripp or whatever his name is and Garth Brooks. Of course if you REALLY want to sound like an Okie you sing "Boomer Sooner" (OU football) and talk football non-stop wearing your red and white OU stuff (or orange and black for OSU if thats the case) or you do the Thunder Basketball thing and walk around looking like a commercial for that.

Hmmm, I'd like to see how Blake Shelton and Garth Brooks landscape their Oklahoma mansions. I'm not into country. It all sounds the same to me and so generic. I was about to bust a gasket a couple years ago because of the landscaping people do around here. Hostas, daylillies and russian sage, and all those alien ornamental grasses. Very bad here. No one has a clue. You said you found a new little bluestem to plant that is more true to the

native. I bought 2 little bluestem cultivars from a nursery a few years ago, and they don't seem very native. They don't even reach 2 feet, and half the time it's hard to tell if they're alive or dead. I was just thinking of starting it with seeds from prairie moon, I just want the true native not some freakish cultivar.

TR, I forgot to mention that I'm pretty sure the moss verbena you have is the same one I grow. I have better results with that one vs. the perennial, and more butterflies visit that one, V. teniusecta.

I looked it up. The early spring blooming, mat forming one is V. bipinnatifida. It's a ground hugging plant that looks good in a rock garden situation growing in gravel around the cactus, these and Gordon's Bladderpod are my earliest blooming wildflowers so I like seeing them when they show up, flower color is light violet. They probably came from a mix of native desert wildflower seeds I ordered I ordered some years ago from Arizona. The other one is a tall delicate looking plant that blooms summer to fall-- V. tenuisecta from a water wise seed mix I bought locally and sowed one year. They both behave like short lived perennials.

You have to be selective with the Little bluestem. The cultivars are preferable for situations in the city in a garden soil situation where most tend to flop (lodge). The best cultivar, in my opinion, is 'Blue Heaven', it really is very pretty and well behaved. The worst is 'The Blues'. Its very top heavy when it sends up stalks and seeds about rather aggressively. The best looking bluestem around here are those which grow in dry, lean situations where they naturally space themselves out, stand stiff and tall like exclamation marks along the roadsides, especially nice are the ones coming up in sandstone outcroppings. The ones planted around the capitol and government buildings in amended soil lodge (except in dry years) but its not so bad because its a solid mass planting of 100's of plants backed up with 100's of Switchgrass plants and large rocks with a bank of blue grama in front + some well placed hesperaloe's.

Here is another very subtle, early spring blooming wildflower I really like. Rayless Gaillardia (aka Perfume Balls) which I planted in the courtyard. I found these growing in the mowed lot by our church where they try to put up blooms that only get a couple inches tall due to regular mowing (poor things). I was so excited when I found them because I'd been wanting to order seeds and I dug up a few tiny plants with my car key and was amazed by how tall they get. I think they look Art Deco. The patch increases each year and I'm trying to establish a couple areas up front by throwing out seeds.

That was a great find. They look right at home. I've always loved Gaillardias. Never heard of the rayless ones before, but they're beautiful. Do the flowers have that earthy blanketflower smell? I was thinking of growing the blue gamma grass. Then I heard someone praising the blond ambition cultivar. I thought about it and decided to skip the cultivar and plant the true native. Then I heard you talking about it and more or less confirming what I thought in the 1st place. I like the Muhly pink flamingo and I'm right at it's northernmost growing range of 6a so I'm not sure how well it would do here. Was thinking of just using gravel to top my sandy bed of drought tolerant plants. I think it might make it easier to pull the weeds, and also aid in better native seed germination. It tends to get a lot of volunteer partridge peas and sweet annie. 1 years worth of some undeadheaded sweet annie 6 years ago and the soil bank is still saturated with its seeds. It's good to have a little around for instant insect repellant in a pinch. I have the leadplant,rattlesnake masters, fameflowers , Liatris spicata, and Oenothera speciosa in that sandy bed. A lot of those seedlings are easily choked out by competition, and the leadplant seedlings take years to reach a decent size. I have a Coriopsus lanceolata in there too. It was bought at the native plant sale and labelled sand Coriopsis. It seems though that the plant can grow well also in regular soil. Have you or any of the southeners tried growing red birds in a tree? It's native range is New Mexico, but it's grown in a much bigger area. We have 2 native figworts here that both have smaller flowers than the southern one. I might try growing one blackfoot daisy. The climate is getting drier here, and all the plants need extra watering to survive, so if I try it and it does well I'll keep it. I've grown the other Melampodiums and they did good. If I never watered it, it would be dry most of the time. What is the blue flowered plant behind the Gaillardia and what plant does that trunk belong to? That really is a gorgeous picture!

Blonde Ambition is not not a hybrid but a find from out in the wilds of New mexico., or that is what I have been told. The guy that used to Own High Country Gardens collected it . He was a collecting fool. He just put a name on it.

Mara, you're right. I just read last night it was a natural cross. I had insomnia all night and forgot about it. I just want whichever one doesn't get too big or floppy. My Canada wild ryes and bottlebrush grass all flop onto nearby plants and I need a change.

Jay, the purple flowering plant you asked about is Scutellaria wrightii (Shrubby Skullcap) originally sent to me from wantanamara from the Hill Country. It has naturalized all over the yard front and back. If you can grow it, I know you would like it. The white flowers are Blackfoot Daisy (from the same generous source) which has also naturalized well thanks to a bit of help with me throwing seeds around in other areas. Those are also in the area in the courtyard with the rayless gaillardia. This was shot in spring and they are much bigger now. The yellow plant by the driveway is Damianita (small shrub, medicinal smell) and there are lazy Daisy's behind it by the cholla along with one of the several fringed sage plants I have.

Blackfoot Daisy, Shrubby Skullcap, Mormon Tea Ephedra (on the left up top) with a tall Mexican Hat beside it and lots of annual Lazy Daisy's & annual gaillardia further back that fill in nice in spring. The pink flowers on the left midway down is a large perennial Winecup which I trim back in late July. On the right side is a Missouri Primrose. I have a variety that has very blue leaves and lighter yellow flowers than the greener kind which I also have.

At the bottom on the hell strip is Thin Man Indian Grass just putting up leaves with Hairy Yellow Asters forming nice neat clumps that get much bigger and bloom yellow all summer simultaneously with fluffy seed balls. Very drought hardy and tough. The plant in front of the large Englemannii Cactus on the hell strip is Azure Sage. I really like it there.

The Flamingo Muhly is all the way down at the other end of the Hell strip. It is a very big grass that has a weeping habit and needs a lot of space.

The big green plant in the middle about 3/4's of the way up is the Mormon Tea. You'd asked about those in another post.

The rayless gaillardia smell like cheap men's cologne. Pollinators love them and its a good nectar source early in the season.

You said you like Buckeye butterflies. Here is a good shot.

They're drooling over your plantains and false foxgloves. Expect some nibbles.

That photo was shot in spring a few years back, I posted it because its my best butterfly shot of all time.

They'd have a difficult time finding either of those to nibble on in my yard. The little annual silver plantains have long since dried up and gone bye bye until next spring. I had to look up false foxglove.

I'm mostly seeing Border Patch along with Monarchs, Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillary and lots of small butterflies & skippers. The Border Patch caterpillars have done a number on the Cowpen Daisy's; I've been culling out skeletons. There are abandoned chrysalis cases attached all over the house.

Mara, the Gulf Fritillary's are sparse again this year---second year in a row. I usually see them in droves.

I haven't seen one but it has been dry.

Hi Tex and Mara. The pictures are all so beautiful. Your yard is butterfly shangra la. I'm interested in knowing exactly what species of Plantago that is. I'm looking for P. patagonica, but it's a futile search. You can get tons of alien Plantago seeds on Amazon and ebay, but the only native one that I liked was Plantago virginica. It's kind of glaucus and hairy. The other 2 natives they offer look so similar to the weedy invasive plantains that they're not worth getting. The ex owner of high country gardens, David Salman did find blonde ambition in the wild. He said it was at least a good foot taller than the regular native Boutelua gracilis growing nearby. TR, you've grown both right? Which one do you like better? I want something that I don't have to divide very often. I don't have a hori hori knife. Who makes a good one? I have a narrow trowel with teeth on one side, but sometimes I think the curviture of it is a hindrance. The pink flamingo Muhly cultivar was a natural cross between gulf coast Muhly and deer grass that was also found growing in the wild. I can grow that, I can grow blue gramma. Blackfoot daisy is hardy to zone 5, so is prairie Verbena which has had its name changed to Glandularia bipinnatifida. The perfume balls Gaillardia nuavis are hardy to 6a. I wasn't sure if it was perrenial or annual, but its perennial and hardy for me. I can't grow the Scutellaria writeii. It's only hardy to 8b or so they say. I have seeds for the heart leaved scullcap, Scutellaria ovata. The heart leaved scullcap reaches 2 feet and forms a nice clump. There is another native, small scullcap, but it doesn't form tight clumps like the Write's scullcap. TR, looking at the pictures it looks like your neighbors are like my neighbors as to how they view and interact with their yards. I grew an Ephedra in a pot one year. Do they have flowers or spores? I'm going to look that up. Gymnosperm i think. Salvias, I grow the Texas native S. coccinia for the hummers and I like the flowers. I like growing autumn sage for the hummers and bees. From watching them it seems they prefer the S. greggii so it must make a lot of nectar. In a weird way I also kind of like it's funky chicken aromatic smell. Camel urine? I've been growing the native S. lyrata for a few years now. They are mostly basal leaved, so I hope they haven't all been smothered to death. I need to go check. They seem to self seed well. I have that horrible S. nemorosa that is supposed to be a perennial garden superstar. Maybe that's why I despise it so. I think it may have kicked the bucket, good riddance! I also have S. azuria. They expand to huge size when they flower. They make a statement. Barron just bought one. I warned her about the size. They need a lot of full sun to do well. I guess that's it for now.

Wooly plantain is the annual one I have. I think its cute as a button. Its common all over the country I believe.

I looked up Scutellaria wrightii, information said its good down to zone 7 and I bet if it was dry with good drainage in winter it would be hardier, its a tough plant but doesn't like too much water. Mine reseed abundantly and I end up pulling lots of them especially down by the sidewalk, they love growing in sidewalk cracks.

I have a second variety Scutellaria suffrutescens that I started from cuttings I got from a woman who lives down the street. It has smaller leaves which are deep dark green unlike the greyish and slightly fuzzy leaved S. wrightii; grows lower but much wider than S. wrightii and blooms cherry red in spring and fall. It slowly forms a 3 feet wide, very compact and tight mound that is only about 10" tall. It doesn't seed about much but every now and then I get a volunteer close by the plant. They both spit out seeds some distance when the little pods pop opens.

Both plants seem real cold hardy, no winter suffering here and we've had some pretty low temps (zero and a bit less) since I've been growing them. They are mostly evergreen (especially S. suffrutescens) unless its a really cold winter.

Blonde Ambition is much bigger and more ornamental. Both tend to start dying out in the centers by year three. It would depend on the situation which one I'd choose but here at my house, those Blonde Ambitions are crowding out my agaves, cactus and hesperaloes and---- I planted too many. I gave them plenty of room planted on 4ft centers but its much bigger than I ever anticipated. Still, its a very pretty grass and I recommend it. The regular type looks more rough and rangy with that "West Texas" or SW desert look and thats a look I rather like, some would not like that. I personally like the way it looks with the gravel forming lots of smaller tufts rather than big ornamental specimens--- a lean and dry look.

dbarron is a him, not a her. He's a pretty cool guy, really knows plants and is a great photographer and appreciator of native plants. He has corrected me numerous times and ID'ed plants I didn't know----- not that I am ever wrong ;)).

I pulled out an old disc----Scutellaria suffrutescens shot in 2013. Its three times wider now, one long-lived and tough plant. Shucks, I lost that white grizzly bear prickly pear cactus---boo-hoo.

TR, I wrote an extremely lengthy comment and now its gone and I'm all talked out. I'll get back. Could it have been divine intervention??. That was a beautiful cactus. My sincerest condolences!

TR, Wooly plantain is supposed to be growing around here, but I've never noticed it. I will have to keep my eyes peeled. Maybe there is some over at the not too far away tall grass prairie. If they were growing pale dock I don't see why they wouldn't grow P. patagonica. I did i.d. it correctly. You can't find seeds for it on the internet except a place that sells it by the pound for what I don't know, but I don't want it bad enough to buy a whole pound. The southern tip of Illinois is about even with the northern tip of Oklahoma, so based on that I might try your two scullcaps even though bonap shows wrightii growing in only Texas and OK. I'm a little shocked that barron is a guy. I do tend to form impressions of people in my mind. I thought I heard barron make a DH comment once, but guys can have husbands now too so that doesn't mean anything. Maybe because he's so caring and nurturing? So TR what are you? I'm Jay, real name John Paul. Live 40 miles south of Chicago in a city called Joliet, named for Louis Joliet. No, I don't live in the city where 70 people get shot every day. I don't like it up there, I mean I wouldn't want to live there with all the congestion. My first home was accross the street from a cornfield so I love wild, wide empty spaces. Where I'm at now is very quiet and peaceful. Only about 7 homes in a wooded area. The neighbors on the one side are old hippies like me and they think they are being native by doing nothing and letting all the weeds grow. It's better for the enviroment then all the artificial perennial plantings, but kind of rough to look at. The house behind me is vacant now. The owner died unexpectedly in May. It has a large yard with about 8 huge old Oaks, some shrubs, no plantings of any kind, not even shade plants. The shocker is that I found out he was the head of agriculture education at the nearby jr. college. He kept hunting dogs outside in a caged pen for years and years. Those dogs barked continuously. The dogs are gone now and the deer and other wildlife are starting to come closer. Is your native dirt orange or black? Thats it for now. Thanks again for being so generous.

TR, The Scutelleria that I sent you years ago was S. drummundii. IT is smaller denser clump with a darker flower. I collected it from a plant on the front of my neighbors before the big drought of 2011. This drought might have wiped out mine.

That one is only hardy to 8b also and its annual. I'm going to try the S. fruttescens. I saw it listed as hardy in zone 6 on one sight.

We don't pay attention to Zones. I think the S drummundi is more than what they say.. The S. resinosa (or however you spell it might be good for you. It is more of a high plains/great plains plant. That is up to northern Kansas.

No we do not pay attention to zones, I trust my own eyes more than what I read. Amounts of moisture factor in along with soil, drainage and surrounding conditions. Dalea greggii (zone 8) is a good example---this plant does well everywhere I try it and it has spread out hugely in its original spot so we don't pay strict attention to mature plant size either---- but I have to say they were right about Salvia regla (spelling?). Sally Wasowski lists some she claims aren't hardy as far north as Dallas and I have them growing just fine up here in OKC.

I'm trying to ID a little low growing cutie----a type of Mirabilis that has small hairy leaves, medium purple flowers, the whole plant is small and stays about 5" tall and blooms its heart out all early summer until early Sept. Every one I've googled is taller. I don't have pictures since Cox Cable fixed my e-mail and I lost years worth of shots.

Mara, I got it in Kansas and sent you some seeds so I don't know if you ever grew it, I think you wanted to sow some by a path. This is one tenacious plant, you cannot dig them out because the root is so tough and deep. They are naturalizing in the front and make nice little bouquets in sidewalk cracks--new blooms every morning.

I had to get my Sally Wasowski book out to look up the name of the purple Scutellaria and that's where I got "wrightii". I remember "drummondii" now. I'm bad with Latin names (actually I'm just lazy with spelling) and I tend to use common names. Some people on these forums get irritated by that.

Jay---I ran across this on google:

This must be the one wantanamara is talking about. It looks very similar to the ones we discussed. My purple ones get attacked by an invasion of tiny black beetles each summer which make the plants look scraggly but otherwise they are OK. They leave the green leaved, pink blooming type alone.

By the way, I live about 15 blocks north from where downtown starts in an old stucco house built in the 1920's in the inner-urban part of the city close to the Paseo Art District and can see the downtown buildings from my top story window. I am an artist/gardener and that pretty much sums up my exciting life. There is lots of "prairie urban grasses, shrubs, wildflower plantings" going on around this part of the city both downtown, the Capital and around the Government buildings which are very close by just to the SE of me. Out in the burbs, its much different and plants are more what you see in the trades.

Funny, I would have never NEVER mistaken dbarron for a woman, I knew he was a dude from day one. He talks like a guy--very much to the point, "just the facts ma'am" like guys often do while women blather on and on and on. He came here once and he is indeed a him.

Hey Barron, where are ye? Ye are being talked about.

I thought of barron more gender neutral. It just came down to using him or her in a sentence and I chose her. Many obvious hints were shot my way and went right over my head. Like the time you called him a bad, bad boy. Duh? And I din't even know if he said DH or not, because between talking with several people, writing long comments that get deleted, rewriting them , ect I really don't know who said what. Basically I believe everyone should be themselves and have a right to love who they want to love. Barrons back! I didn't know he was so into photography. I will have to start kicking my photos up a notch fril now on. I love this new idea of ignoring zones. You all are such defiant revolutionaries!!!

I don't do zones either...cos I have that Brit thing of thinking we (in the UK) can grow absolutely anything we want in our perfect (ha) maritime climate (gardening, football and fishing still being national obsessions).

This summer has been a rude awakening and knocked that wee delusion on the head.

Mind, the slightly bizarre flipside of this seems to be an exported version of '\english garden'...which the rest of the world fervently imitates, regardless of zones, geography, culture...roses and delphiniums always feature a lot.

To my joy, I came across a hoarded baggie of ipomopsis seed ...so if the penstemon barbatus are a fail, I have another tall(ish) red

camps, those SW penstemons, like barbatus, act like short lived perennial and annuals for me but I get so many seeds enough volunteers come up to make it work--I throw them out all over the property. If you are talking about Standing Cypress, those come up easy in fall, winter successfully, grow in all kinds of soil situations and seem quite forgiving of too much water although a few will turn black which is no problem with a generous sowing. They really get tall in dryish sandy soil. One successful year and you will have enough seed to plant a very large stand (or two or three or....) the next year. They have a very thick, tough, long tap root. I'd be surprised if they didn't do well for you.

Another tallish one I'm eyeing is Oenothera rhombipetala (Diamond Petal Primrose) 3 to 6 feet tall annual "elegant looking plant" that will "take over the show for you". Several stems per plant, bloom up to 3" in diameter. source----Native American Seed

Yes,I here they like sandy dirt but not that fond of lime. I have thought of gambling with them before. It looks like I will have to call off all plant sales this year. I just got in 4 large jobs with an unmovable time limit. I don't think I can get the state government to not start the session because of my hold up due to having to plant some natives.. I am madly trying to get in the plants into the ground that I already have. 20 red Salvia greggis went in . I am eyeing the mexican orchid trees. now and a Almond verbena that is in the car.

Hi TR, That Oenothera reminds me of the O. biennis that grows wild around here, but the rhombipetala has larger flowers. I think I bought something similar to the rhombi once, and then freaked out at it's fast spread and got rid of it. I have mostly grown the Missouri macrocarpa. It can handle dry conditions very well. Mine was growing in sand and taking up a lot of groundspace. Long lived, except once voles ate all the fleshy roots. I got rid of it because it was taking up too much space, but I should have made another sandy bed, because I seem to be getting more and more dry loving plants. Native American Seed sells Gailardia nuavis seeds, that's where I'm getting them. I ordered the cowpen daisy seeds from them never having grown them before. Do you think they look better by themselves and how do they blend in with other flowers? I do have seeds on order for Scutellarias suffrutescens and resinosa. They say the suffrutescens won't self seed in colder areas, but if it blooms all season I should be able to collect seeds and start them in the spring if the plants don't return after winter.

S. suffutescens grows well from cuttings also.

Yeah, thanks that's good to know. My rooting skills need some work. We only have about 5 months of growing season so cuttings need to be started early so there will be enough time to get them in the ground and have them establish a little. The coral honeysuckles would be good for getting cuttings. I need more for the hummers. I think you can do cuttings of Buddleias. Those bushes are short lived and unpredictable. I've grown several different ones. I think there are some western native Buddleias that I can't grow. I grew the sungold hybrid that I think is a cross between the South American globe flowered species and a native western species. They are great for butterflies and pollinators, but I'd rather have natives taking their place. If the New Madrid quake happens again I will be able to ride a boat all the way to Texas. And have coastal real estate.

Gee Mara, I wish I had some jobs in like that. I'm jealous (boo hoo). The joys of being self employed, up and down, feast or famine. "Stay calm..."

Mexican Orchid trees are pretty. There are several small trees that grow "down there" I wish I could grow if I had a larger piece of property.

Jay, A few years ago, I stumbled across a variety of Missouri Primrose with much bluer leaves than than the species and the flowers are a bit lighter and softer yellow. I got a seed pod to start my own and really like it better in all respects: form, size, color. I was considering the tall annual Diamond Primrose Oenothera I mentioned for that very dry spot on the difficult west side I am constantly experimenting with. Out front I imagine it would be too wide and take too much space. I wouldn't mind tall but I don't want wide.

The Rayless Gaillardia is easy from seed but not the prolific seeder like annual gaillardia. Now that I'm growing it, I notice them here and there along the roadsides in spring---red balls sitting on top of tall stiff stems, hard to miss but not overly common on my routes. A cute thing about them is the way they turn toward the sun during the day, like little heads. Its charming and has personality. My patch is slowly getting larger although I read it is a short lived perennial. Its an evergreen mat in winter or when not blooming if you cut the stalks. Time will tell if its short lived, this was the third year for the original patch. They don't seem to self sow much and mine are in a good spot for self sowing--gravel on sand, most seeds seem to love that. I planted G. aestivalis and love it but I've only ended up with a couple plants each year so far by direct sowing. Its very delicate and subtle.

Maybe I would grow another Missouri primrose if I found one I really liked. There are still some other Oenotheras I want to try. I have seeds for Prairie Sundrops, O pillosella. It has big flowers and doesn't take up a lot of groundspace. It has a spreading habit like O. speciosa, which I'm growing now in sandy soil, but the pink primrose did better and was more agressive in black soil. The prairie sundrops needs some moisture to do well so I may have to water. The G. aestivalis is cute. These Gaillardias are all new to me, before it was just pulchellum and aristata. All the aristata hybrids they sell at garden centers here end up being annuals. I don't know why G. aristata won't winter here? The old retired teacher who taught me about plants had an aristata that came back every year. Whatever her secret was it's now lost. Our weather here is strange. I'm just 40 miles southwest of Lake Michigan, and when every storm approaches from the southwest of me it breaks in two and half the rain goes north to Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the other half of the rain goes to southern Illinois and we get nothing. :((

I have some kind of G aristata that has tube-like petals. I have no idea where it came from. It blooms red, comes back and is long blooming. I don't think its from a small pack of seeds I got from a GW trade years ago because those had regular petals but I have no memory of getting, trading or buying these, they just appeared. Its a mystery. Maybe a fluke or aberration?

I've got a solid yellow type which is a weaker plant, kind of spindly and a solid much more robust red type in that trade; the reds winter over, the yellows don't. Still, they pop up every year but it appears the reds are eating away at the yellow borders of my old annual types so I traded some seeds from wantanamara to protect the borders on mine and sent her some redder ones. Must be a dominant thing. I hope I didn't turn hers mostly red, I really like that yellow border because it ='s orange, a hard color to get.

By the way, O speciosa is a thug in my opinion. I got rid of it finally. Pretty on the roadside covering lots of ground in wide patches but no thanks. Once I got a pack of mixed seed and carefully removed them wearing my magnifiers. Never again. If one dares to come up, it doesn't last long.

Central Oklahoma is my land, it's my country. Eastern Oklahoma is a beautiful sight. Northern Oklahoma might as well be Kansas. Never go to southern Oklahoma at night...... What's going on in southern Ok. and why don't folks go there at night??? Too close to that bad influence Texas??? 3 new Monarchs hatched. 2 girls and 1 boy. Please have some flowers for my babies when they pass through on their way to Mexico.