Gary, the "Taming Wildflowers" book sounds interesting -- but then, I'm a sucker for "all books about gardening"
. We definitely have no lack of wildflowers here in the UP, but, as far as I'm concerned that's neither here nor there -- I really do love growing native plants!
I think the plants you're considering growing in your garden space are excellent choices! As far as 1 hour per year maintenance... well, that might be a bit of a stretch, but you don't have a huge area there so once your plants are established that might actually be realistic. I would actually think it would be best to start your plants from seed in January or February indoors, under lights, and then plant out in the spring... but maybe someone who gardens closer to your zone will have some input about that. Perennials usually start out growing pretty slowly from seed, and in the heat of the summer I think it would be difficult to get them to "take."
