We put in our native planting a year ago, in fact, sowed it on May 31, 2003, We watered it, tried to keep the weeds at bay, but by the end of the growing season it looked like crap. Little had come up, and most of it was covered with a thick mat of crabgrass. I told my wife it was a disaster. Early this spring we burned off the crabgrass mat and whatever else would burn, and decided to wait and see what would happen. In this area (NE Nebraska) we've had a cooler and wetter spring than normal, which has contributed to what we have now! Purple coneflower, upright coneflower, Mexican hat, blanket flower, Rocky Mountain bee plant, purple poppy mallow, sweet black eyed susan, black eyed susan, columbine, spiderwort, and others that I can't identify, but will be blooming shortly. The liatris are coming along, and other forbs are coming up. I don't exactly know what they are yet, but they aren't weeds. We have come to know the weeds well. The mass is waist high and growing taller, and so thick it can't be walked through. A color explosion, and we do sit and watch it for hours! Absolutely amazing! Can't wait to see what it will look like next year. We do have a few weeds yet, but they are being overpowered by the native plants. Our advice is patience, the rewards are great!

So good to hear your story, FNLady -- wondering how you got it all going?

I chose a sunny spot in my garden (the ONLY sunny spot), killed the turfgrass (fescue) and conditioned the soil. We have mostly clay here--the gooey kind you make pottery out of. ;o) I added a LOT of organic matter, but stayed away from high nitrogen stuff. As I said earlier, I started off with quite a few containerized plants--we are lucky enough to have a nursery nearby that sells prairie plants. I was especially concerned about starting the grasses from seed, as my brother did not have much luck with that. I bought and planted Indian grass, Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, and switch grass in containers, and they have become quite full and robust. I bought a few containers of wildflowers (butterfly milkweed, purple coneflowers, yellow coneflowers, Mexican hat, compass plant, liatris, aromatic aster, woodland sunflower) and scattered them about, and now they are starting babies from seed. I started quite a few annuals from seed that first year to help fill in--mostly sunflowers. I mulched with shredded hardwood mulch to keep down the weeds. The garden was rather sparse-looking the first summer, but it is filling in nicely this year and the plants are providing support for each other.