Josephine, mine didn't really look like that. I'm not sure which one you were referring to though, regarding the perennial one - the Common Black-eyed Susan, or the Brown-eyed Susan. I had Brown-eyed Susan in my yard, according to our renter who is the one who planted it. He was a landscape architect. The other I bought and brought with me, and wasn't in my yard. Not sure if it's annual or perennial though as I just looked at the pretty picture on the tag!

Well, it really doesn't matter which one you have, if it works well, that is what counts.

You've got my interest though! There are so many different ones that have the same common name, and it's always nice to know which one you really have. I'll look at some more pictures later and see if I can figure it out! I still have a lot to learn with these particular plants!

I was talking about rudbeckia triloba
The flowers are at most the size if a quarter
it is a biannual or short lived perennial and reseeds nicely.

Okay, I'm less confused now! I've never had that one but I did order seeds for it from Diane's Seeds a couple of days ago. It's so cute!

I think you will like it.

I know I will love it!

Natalie said: Ann, I love that picture of Pearlie girlie!

We need to find some wildflowers for your area too! If anyone can suggest anything that holds up to temps that are unbearable, and sun that never seems to go down, please let us know!

I've been behind & hadn't gotten a chance to come back to this thread for about 10 days so I just saw this. Thank you Natalie. The dh saw her like that & brought it to my attention & it was a Kodak moment.

Yes, I'm going ot have to get some wildflowers going too. I know the rudbeckias do well here as there are volunteers & so I will be seeding with those.

Here's an article Tee wrote on seed balls.
http://garden.org/ideas/view/S...

Thanks for the link Ann! I'll have to do this when Bailey isn't looking. She'll spend all day bringing them back to me!

That's how the native Americans did it. It's a really good way to do wildflowers. They have their own little plot of soil to germinate in & the balls will lodge at different places down that hill, get caught on the edge of a rock, a little dip in the terrain etc.... It all makes perfect sense.

Edited to add: Sharon wrote one of her stories about how Aunt Bett used to do this too but I can't find the story.

Sounds like a lot of fun to me!

Silphium perfoliatum has reseeded like mad here.
Much loved by Butterflies. It gets 7+ feet tall and wide in no time.

Thanks so much Janice! That is a really pretty flower! I'll have to find some seeds for that one. Looks perfect, since it's not going to kill the wildlife!

Natalie!

I wish I had saved some seed for you!

That photo is from last year and this year I've been pulling the plant out.

In a natural area, it would be a great plant, but not in my beds, where it takes over valuable garden space.

If you like butterflies, this plant does attract them to the max. I saw 20-30 butterflies on the plant at a time!!

Wow!!! Love butterflies, and anything that attracts them is always a bonus! I'm so glad that you mentioned the plant!