My name is Matt and I am beginning in the wonderful hobby that gardening is. I asked some questions about a year ago and received some very kind responses from many of you. Many thanks again regarding that.

Last week, I found a beautiful seeds mix by what seem to be an amazing company named Nature's garden seed company (from Victoria in BC)

http://www.naturesgardenseed.com/product/6223929/Wildflowers_Mixes/897 88709/Backyard_Biodiversity_Wildflower_Seed_Mix.html

I was very excited when I purchased it and I found a great spot to plant the seeds in my garden. The mix includes:
Black-Eyed Susan, New England Aster, Butterfly Weed, Purple Coneflowers, Fireweed, Indian Blanket, Large-leave Lupine.

I am well aware that we are in mid-july and that chances are that none of the seeds that I could plant at this time would bloom. So I have a few questions for you:

1-If my wish if for the flowers to flower next year, is it better if I plant the seeds now, in late October or in the early Spring of next year ?

2- If I plant the seeds now, and the plants start growing this year (without necessarly blooming), would it imply that they will grow again next year ?

3- Would you have any other recommandations to make my project successful ?

Thank you for reading me and helping me.

Matt.

Given that you're in Zone 4, I don't think that any of the plants would get to bloom before frost if you plant them now. Most of the plants in your mix are not hardy perennials in your zone and will return year after year only because they self-sow; therefore, if they don't mature enough to produce seeds, they won't come back.

As for planting in October, I know that Lupines can be sown in the Fall, in fact I have a packet of seeds ready and waiting to do just that. I would suggest that you research the individual flowers and see if they can be sown in the Fall.

One other suggestion is that you visit the Canadian Winter Sowing Forum and read the FAQs. I've never done it, but I was so intrigued when I looked into it that I think I'll be trying it this coming winter.

Tell us the province you are located in so we can make recommendations on what other plants to use.

I like meadow gardening and utilize many plants that are non-traditional garden plants. For example Joe pye weeds which attract birds, look great and are hardy to your zone. Coneflowers are definitely ok in your zone. I'll see what else might work out and post it here.

Shrubs for Zone 4
Broadleaf Evergreen Shrubs
Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
Garland flower (Daphne cneorum)
Inkberry (Ilex glabra), with protection
Japanese Pieris (Pieris japonica)
Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
Oregon Grapeholly (Mahonia aquifolium), warmer areas
Pieris, Japanese (Pieris japonica), Zone 4b with protection
Rhododendron(Rhododendron), some kinds

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Deciduous Shrubs
American cranberry bush (Viburnum trilobum)
Azalea, Northern Lights series
Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
Bottlebrush, Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)
Buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis)
Burning bush (Euonymus alatus)
Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)
Cinquefoil, bush (Potentilla fruticosa) Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster)
Dogwood (Cornus)
Enkianthus (Enkianthus campanulatus)
Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)
Fothergilla (Fothergilla)
Honeysuckle (Lonicera)
Hydrangea (Hydrangea), some types
Korean Rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum)
Lilac (Syringa)
Rose (Rosa)
Serviceberry (Amelanchier)
Silverberry (Elaeagnus commutata)
Smoketree (Cotinus coggygria) in protected areas
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Spirea (Spiraea), some kinds
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus)
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
Tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima)
Viburnum (Viburnum)
Willow, dwarf blue-leaf Arctic (Salix purpurea)
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. All your explanations make full sense. I did read the instuctions on the pack of seeds that I got and it said to plant in early Spring for best results.

I just thought that since these flowers are perennials, I could plant them now and they will grow a little and then Winter would come. And then come next Spring, the flowers would just grow normally because the plants would have grown some roots the previous Summer/Fall.

I understand that some of the plants in the mix may do that but now all of them.

I forgot to mention that I am very fond on native plants and would really like to grow plants that are native.

ianna, you mentionned the Joe-Pye weed. I had the chance to seem some in a local garden and found them very nice. I am also a birdwatcher so anything that attracts birds is good too. How easy is it to grow Joe-Pye weed from seeds ?

I also have a big problem with our yard. The yard is not ours (we are renting the house) but the owner told us that we could garden as much as we like. The yard is fairly small and is surrounded by tall Hedges. Within the hedges, there is also an apple tree that take a lot of space and a lot of light from our garden.

As a result, our black-eyed Susan did not grow straight. Same for our New-England Asters and one Canada Goldenrod. We have 1 purple coneflower that is straight and about 4 or 5 Giant Hyssop too (I started them from seeds during the Winter 2009 and they survived marvelously well outside. I am very proud of me for that). The only plants that I planted 1 year ago that survived were: Wild Columbine, Purple Coneflower (1 out of a 15), Black-Eyed Susan (lots), New England Aster and Giant Hyssop. What did not survived: Wild Bergamot, Butterfly Weed

There is one 6' by 3 feet spot that has a fair among of sun that I am thinking of using to grow the pack of seeds that I am talking about but I want to be sure of my shot before significantly modify the look of the whole yard.

The spot that I am referring to is also right next to the patio which is made out of solid chalk. I am really not too sure of what I could plant in that spot that is native, attracts wildlife and does not require a whole lot of care. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

And as for the pack of seeds that I was talking about previously, it mentions to plant early in the Spring. When exactly would be a good time assuming that the last period of frost is normally around May 20th in my region (Ottawa region) ?

Once again, thank you for reading me and for helping me.

All the best,

Matt.

If something says "plant in early spring", that would be as soon as the soil can be worked (not frozen or wet), so probably anywhere between mid-March and mid-April in Ottawa, depending on year. This mostly applies to hardy annuals and cool season vegetables. However, in this particular case, you have tender annuals in that mix so I would question those instructions. Plant these after your last frost date.