I have a very well established butterfly garden with many mature perennials and a great variety of host and nectar plants. Due to the moist spring, I now have literally hundreds of volunteer seedlings of many of my most valuable plants. The problem, if it is even a problem, is that the volunteers did not stay in the previously semi-neat groupings or beds that I had originally created. My question is, should I try to transplant things in the fall into more controlled groupings? Should I pot up some of the seedlings and give/sell them to interested people? Or should I let it continue to be a very natural-appearing and carefree mish mash? In some cases, the plants really are going to get too crowded. So I'll certainly move/remove some plants. It's also getting hard to move around through the garden, so I will re-create some access paths.

If I decide to pot up plants, should I shake the soil from the roots and put them in commercial potting soil? Or should I fill in the holes with commercial soil and keep the original soil around the roots? I suppose that depends on whether I'm more concerned about the health of the transplants or the quality of the soil left in the garden. What have others done in their gardens?

Plants that I have off the top of my head:

Asclepias tuberosa (hundreds)

A. incarnata (thousands)

A. "Red"

Joe Pye Weed

Woodland Sunflower

Downy Sunflower

Wild Blue Lupne

Coneflower

Black-Eyed Susan

Obedient Plant

Rue

Coreopsis (annual)

Fennel

Parsley

Monarda (several types)

Virginia Creeper

Anise Hyssop

Anemone

Flox

Golden Alexander

New England Aster

Rudbeckia

Columbine

etc.

Who wants some? I look forward to any thoughts.

Martha