Gschnettler said:
Thanks for all of the advice so far. The problem I have with wildflower mixes is that since I'm new to gardening I can never tell what's a flower and what's a weed. I prefer to keep things more organized, with specific plants relegated to specific areas. For example, my natural inclination would be to put the shortest plant in the front, then a medium sized plant in a row behind it, and then a row of the taller plants behind that.
Your description doesn't sound much like a butterfly garden as I understand them.
Butterflies need flowers in their adult stage, but they also need plants to raise their families on.... This often means weeds....
I think I would start out simply.... Toss out some zinnia seeds.... Scatter some carrot seed...
The black swallowtail will lay eggs on the carrots, and as adults, they will visit the zinnia.
The blackeyed susan often has a short bloom time at my house. And depending on The variety.... Some spread by roots.... A lot... Some die and come up from seed... A lot...
Echinacea is always a good choice...
But... When you are trying to train formality into wildflowers, seems a bit of a contradiction.... I suggest getting over the idea of tidy, and learn to appreciate a rambunctious kind of garden, where a weed isn't necessarily a bad thing, and a plant out of place isn't really out of place, but is instead an explorer.
There are some plants that actually need to move around a bit... Trying to make them stay in one place kills them.
