Hmmm. You're the second person to have suggested that! Well, I feel pretty lucky having wild orchids in my yard if that is what it is :) Here are some photos I took this morning. http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk14/ksviatko/Plant%20ID%20possible%20orchid%20or%20lily/4.jpg http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk14/ksviatko/Plant%20ID%20possible%20orchid%20or%20lily/3.jpg http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk14/ksviatko/Plant%20ID%20possible%20orchid%20or%20lily/2.jpg http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk14/ksviatko/Plant%20ID%20possible%20orchid%20or%20lily/1.jpg

Great picture! What a beautiful scene! I totally agree on the pot! I have 9 (i think, might be missing one by memory... way too many) still in pots to be planted! I never rooted roses before that bunch two winters ago and had almost all root, so I had a bunch of plants. Some doubles. I rooted them in the late summer/fall and grew them under lights all winter, then set them out in the spring into gallon pots. All grew. I potted them into bigger pots to overwinter as I had no place to put them anyway. All lived. Then last summer I hoped to see at least one bloom on something, but not a one!! They were all marked, but some I was not so sure on. This year, every one of them finally bloomed!! (I have a couple more to id, BTW.) I have put a couple in the ground and have arranged places for others and I totally agree they need to be put in asap. I was not ready for all the new growth, way more growth than the first summer. I should have been as I know they put down great root systems, but was not thinking straight and was sure they would have been in by now. Part of the problem is me having to be very strategic on placement due to sun, living in a rental space, and having to arrange pillars. Exactly what you suggested, Jacqueline, the pillar is what I need to work out for this one. The yard has some existing "pillars" old fence posts from long gone fences, I assume. There are two square shaped holes in the existing stone wall bordering a walkway, which in my rampant imagination like to think held 4x4's that once were pillars of an arbor. Getting new 4x4's in there would be perfect, except for the existing plantings nearby, and the cost. Mainly the cost, and how to get it done right. I think it looks easier said than done, and I am doing this by myself, mostly, and have not really figured out a way to do it. Especially the cost to me being as I don't even own the place! I am always freaking about about where to plant stuff as I am never sure if a new tree is going to be cut down, or if I trellis something on the fence or house if some dudes will show up in a big truck marked "new fence guys" or "gutter install". Maybe not likely but has happened and never ends up well for whatever is planted nearby. Nobody working here seems to give a crap if nobody is watching them who they are actually paid by, I don't think. You can not imagine how many damn branches the cable and phone guys have ripped off the holly tree. You would think by now they could reach the damn pole with one side being bare! But, no! Every time, they find the need to tear off another branch. WTF? Drives me insane!! Earlier this season I went out front after roofers were here to find a big hatchet in the garden bed out front. Thrown from the roof! Right thru the main arm of a low growing conifer I had just moved there trying to save it from an ivy ridden spot. Chopped it right off. Pretty much a goner now, it is. They even left the hatchet behind! They threw it so far away they must have forgotten about it. Brand new, it was, too. Aside from a little tar, perfect condition. Um, and sharp! I added it to my garden tools and used it a week later to chop out two stumps, so something good came of it. Sort of. Oh well, that is the chance I take gardening here. Either way, I agree they need to get out of the pots asap! Working on that today, along with the long list of other chores in the garden. I have a spot that could be great for this climber, unfortunately I designated it as the one spot for the trash cans dedicated to the downstairs neighbors compost leaves. I got tired of them on the patio so moved them behind the fireplace by an existing pillar. The area needs some serious work, but it can be done. Hopefully in time to get this in the ground and running really soon!

I would not till or disturb the soil. There are dormant weed and grass seeds in the soil that will sprout if you till. I would like you to realize that the best long term solution is not going to happen overnight. If you plant wildflowers, and do it correctly, it will take about two to three years before it looks like a nice wildflower patch. Patience when working with wildflowers will pay off. Before you plant anything, You will need to kill what is growing there now, so it doesn't out compete your wildflower seeds. I probably would wait until the existing stuff starts not to be dormant....and then spray it with roundup. Round up works while the plants are actively growing, so if they are dormant right now - its not going to do much .... A couple weeks after the roundup application, mow any plant residue left very very short... follow the mowing with light raking to scarify the soil, but don't disturb the soil too much. After mowing and raking, then apply a quality wildflower septic mix from a reputable native plant nursery. Do not buy a can of seeds from a big box retail or hardware store. Reputable native plant nurseries have a pre made mix specifically for septic systems. You may want to roll the seed to get good soil contact but that would be hard on the side slopes. So you can probably skip that part. I would cover the seed, especially on the side slopes with an erosion control blanket like North American Green S150. The blanket gets tacked into the soil and will degrade over time. The blanket will hold the soil on your side slopes until the time that your wildflowers get established. The blanket also acts as a mulch, preventing windborn weed seeds from getting established, and it helps moderate soil moisture and temperature which will help your seeds germinate. You may want to water it a few times. Do not expect any significant growth the first year. In fact I would probably keep it weed wacked to about six inches or so, the first growing seasons to keep anything from going to seed. It helps keep weeds from multiplying and it doesn't hurt the wildflowers. I just use a mower set real high, but it would be hard to do that on a slope. good luck.

Adiantium - I'm so glad you joined in! Sounds like you have a wonderful garden. I've been seeing goldfinches too. I have lots of dried out coneflowers for them and I'm hoping they'll go to my zinnias and cosmos also. I've never been able to figure out what kind of liatris I have. I may post a photo for you to look at to see if it looks like your l. aspera since that is one that I thought it might be. I also bought amsonia illustris and swamp milkweed at the Native Plant Symposium last year. The amsonia has grown a lot this summer and I'm anxious to see if it gets good fall color. I had to look back at an old post to see which amsonia it was and I also found where I mentioned the name of the silene. It was s. regla. I collected some seeds from it this week so I can plant some more of those for next year. It's finished blooming now but here's a photo from earlier this summer. Click to enlarge: My swamp milkweed was heavily infested with aphids and I ignored them since the ladybugs usually show up and take care of those for me but they must've been working in someone else's garden this time. The poor thing looked dried up and dead by the end of August. I'm hoping it will return next year anyway.