It might be easier to spray if you mow first. Just don't mow too close to the ground because you want to have enough foliage for roundup effectiveness. It would be great to spray with roundup several times over at least two seasons. If you proceed too fast you'll likely have more weed problems as you progress. The best time to sow seed is in the fall. You could treat the area several times until fall of 2012, then sow your meadow.

If you join a group such as Wild Ones, there's lots of chapters in Wisconsin, you might be able to get some free seed from other Wild Ones members. If you start collecting seed now, most can be stored longer than you might think in your fridge. Otherwise, there are some quality retailers that offer seed mixes that can be matched to your specific growing conditions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wild Ones

Wonderful I shall do that thank you, Jessica

Hey Jessica,

I'm scheming how to put a prairie in part of my suburban yard and ran across this book - "Urban and Suburban Meadows" by Catherine Zimmerman. She shows detailed photos of exactly how to do this. I drove 2 hours to see her presentation at a Columbus store. If I understand right, she says secret is to patiently smother the existing vegetation, then plant. Don't disturb the existing soil because that'll just bring up weed seeds. Patient because it takes months to smother the area to the point of planting. She does show an alternative using a herbicide, but NOT Roundup. Roundup and many other herbicides contain Glyphosate - dangerous chemical there arguably with many links to cancer. Use an organic herbicide if you must. She names several that are effective. Good luck. (PS, numerous studies have shown "wildflower mixes" usually contain non natives, and some even had INVASIVE species in them.) Take care,
Hal

sorry - forgot to give you the link to Catherine's website

Here is a link that might be useful: Urban and Suburban Meadows - Catherine's website