Meet the flock:

But, this spot! This spot leads to the death of 2/3 of the plants I plant in it. I know I will lose some plants I plant. But, other locations have been around a 20% loss. This plot of land... 70% loss! And those plants that do survive still struggle immensely. Most grow much slower than expected, with gangly, spindly forms. And to add insult, the deer eat many of the plants that do grow well, things they aren't supposed to like!

I enjoy most the look of a full flower garden bed with layers of plants all mingling together. (See my pinterest board for the look I love!) But, despite all my efforts, the garden here doesn't look full. It doesn't even look half full. It still looks sparce. And random.

The garden during the third growing season:

Back yard looking NW again.
Front slope from a different angle.

So, in a last ditch effort to fill in my flower garden, I ordered two wildflower seed packets from American Meadows. I chose American Meadows seed because last year my son wanted to start a small garden of his own and I gave him an old packet of seeds that came as a sample from the American Meadows catalog. Wonder of wonders... Many plants sprouted in his garden from this packet! That gave me hope! And a favorable view of American Meadows seed quality. I ordered 1/4 lb. Dry Area Wildflower Seed Mix and 1/4 lb. Blue Wildflower mix (to make the color mix more my style). I also added Fireweed seeds, hoping that it is true to its nature: growing in poor, barren soil in large patches. (I first became acquainted with this beautiful plant in Yellowstone this summer and wanted it, plant collector that I am!) 

Once my seeds arrived, I spent an afternoon with my entire seed inventory, creating custom mixes for each area of my yard. I felt like a little garden wizard mixing my magic potions. I stored each mix in a labeled ziploc bag. The next day, I mixed each batch with moistened sand for better distribution.

My first plan was to use my seed spreader for the job, but it jammed up immediately with the moist sand. Plan B: I spread each area by hand. The moist sand assisted the seed in falling down throught the snow. It felt like a refreshing act of faith to throw those seeds all out there and hope for success!

I sincerely hope this plan works. The snowpack this year has been higher than normal, and the temps have been consistently cold. If we continue to have a cold, wet winter and then a normal spring, the seeds should sprout well! I spread over 100K seeds, so even if I get 10% growth rates from the seeds... Ah, I hope it works! Please work!!