Here are some links to better pictures. http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg69/btalarczyk/Plant%20Pics/PhonePics319.jpg http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg69/btalarczyk/Plant%20Pics/PhonePics318.jpg http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg69/btalarczyk/Plant%20Pics/PhonePics320.jpg http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg69/btalarczyk/Plant%20Pics/PhonePics317.jpg

Sounds like a good idea to me, too. I like what everyone is suggesting. You could start with some clumps of nice native grass that would be okay to plant now...pink muhly grass is gorgeous! Stick some salvia coccineas here and there (they will reseed and multiply), add some other natives or summery annuals, like the gaillardias, etc. And then when the weather cools down, you could sow seeds between them. (A Florida wildflower mix). Yes, I agree to check out Biosphere for seed mixtures that do well here, or even go visit them, and pick out some plants to jump start the area. The native black-eyed Susan Laura mentioned is rudbeckia triloba, and it is a CHAMP. I would also highly recommend seaside goldenrod. Great foliage when not in bloom, and spectacular yellow bloom spikes in the fall. Both of these will multiply, but not at an invasive rate. Good luck with what you are doing, and keep us posted on how it is turning out. Marcia

This is a very charming plant and the variety of butterflies that appeared to visit it were amazing. I am smack in the center of the usa, near Kansas City, Mo. We have three wet areas, almost bogs, in the wetland flood plain area of the creek that runs through our parks. This year, disgusted with the standing stagnant water I decided to try and plant the spots with "rain garden" shrubs. Actually the only plants I introduced were native Button bush shrub seedlings and in one wet area--transplanted horsetail rushes from another area in the park. The area is often flooded with flash flood waters 1-7' deep. Mid summer I noticed Moneywort - Lysimachia nummularia had appeared, washed in on it's own. This was quickly joined by a dainty ground cover of 10-12" grass that appeared to be--and was in fact-Scirpus cernuus / Fiber-optic grass/Salt Marsh Bullrush which I had seen in garden centers and knew to be Non native. In fact it is a tropical zone plant. This was followed by a strange plant that had me totally stumped. It was also small and dainty and had an unusual flower. I suspected that it was possibly a garden pond escapee like the fiber optic grass because I had never seen anything like it. The Missouri Conservation department finally gave me the name "frog fruit" as a possibility. Searching this online tonight quickly nailed this charming mystery plant because of the flower. Online photos also solved the butterfly mystery. An assortment were visiting this wet area all summer and many were ones I had never seen before. I now recognized several of the butterflies shown on frog fruit. Several places mentioned their attraction as both a nectar and larval food source. One source said, "This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds" Possibly they meant hummingbirds because we also had an unusual number of them around these rain gardens. They seemed torn between the shaded native Jewel weed along the woodland edge and the sunny patch of rain garden. I hope this combination that Mother Nature delivered to us reappears again next summer. The largest area had only Buttonbush, moneywort, fiber optic rush and frog fruit. Because of the plant heights this seemed a perfect combination. This was full sun from 10am-5pm but never dried up all summer. The water averaged 1/2" to 2" deep. From this combination we had something blooming, even though they were all tiny, all summer. Is this global warming? So far I have seen nothing harmful or invasive with these odd little plants since they are filling a seemingly empty niche and grow well with other small plants.

Hello. I am growing Castilleja coccinea from seed and it seems to be fairly easy if you start it w/sedges or grasses in the same pot...it is hemiparasitic meaning that it is somewhat dependent on these for germination and survival. The species you are referring to is the Texas Paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa)...same Genus, different species. It is not really a "white" paintbrush though. Apparently there are variations in flower colour, one of these being white. If you can get to Texas ( and probably right there where you are in OK) one link I found said that you could find them growing along highways though I'm not sure how easy they are to transplant so I'd probably give the seeds a whirl! The link below is a seed source for them Here is a link that might be useful: paintbrush seeds