Four whole years ago, I decided we would transform about an acre's worth of downed trees into a native wildflower meadow. My vision was to create a little ecosystem that would be respite for bees, butterflies, birds, deer and humans...a place where my compatriots and I would go to appreciate Nature's daily (and nightly) comings and goings. 
The process of turning an ugly, snarled landscape into a sea of colorful flora required some heavy equipment, several very good friends, some expensive native seed, and much patience. It turns out there's only so much a bunch of well-meaning humans can do to restore the land to its natural state. You have to just let Nature do what she does best...and let her do it on her own timetable. We finished clearing in the Summer of 2007 and had to wait until that winter to scatter our native seed mix on the snow. That following Spring, only a few annuals came up, mostly Indian Blanket and Cornflower with a lot of dirt in between. Where was the glorious Foxglove and Coneflower and Milkweed I was promised? That Fall, the Indian Blanket and Cornflower promptly died back and I was certain I'd been sold a bad batch of seed.
Then in the Spring of 2009, up came patches of Black-eyed Susan and Partridge Pea, still with lots of dirt in between. We refer to that as our "yellow year". And of course, it all died back in the Fall, and again I was certain I'd been sold a bad batch of seed.
Then it was Spring of 2010, and we got grass. Lots and lots of grass. We refer to that as our (you guessed it) "grass year". We were certain that the grasses had run amok! They must have out-competed all those beautiful flowers that were promised but never meant to be. That Fall we mowed it all down, convinced like never before that I'd been sold a bad batch of seed.
And now its 2011 and my technicolor vision is finally coming to fruition. Butterflies, birds and humans alike are delighted by the Coneflower, Brown-eyed Susan, Bee Balm, False Sunflower, Foxglove, Rattlesnake Master, and Milkweed. And at last, four long years later, we get to refer to this as our "wildflower year".
