I spent many dollars in the early spring buying nursery plants. Most of them have already died. Never again! We also have clay soil. From now on, I pledge to buy only natives.

I have never seen The Blue Oatgrass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) ever spread or make seedlings. It just becomes a mound. Northern
Sea-Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) does spread alot by seed and the clump slowly spreads. New Jersey Tea is not flashy, but interesting. I got it from Prairie Nursery in Wisconsin.

just was wondering why you picked the name sassafras. i love thosse trees special memories from my childhood. anyways have been trying to get native plants in my back yard for years i carry ashovel and bucket in my trunk alot of time the birds plant them for me lol

Busy Day Cobbler
2c. fruit, 1/2c. sugar, 1 stick margarine, 1 cup sugar, 3/4c.self-rising flour, 3/4c. milk.
Melt margarine in casserole dish. Mix1/2 c. sugar over fruit. In separate bowl mix sugar, flour, milk and vanilla if you like. Pour mixture over margarine:do not stir. Add fruit evenly over batter. Bake at 350deg. for 30min. or until golden brown.
Note: You can add or take away sugar or butter depending on how sweet berries or fruit are. If you use cans of fruit drain juice, use less sugar.
Quick and easy! Yum:)

I imagine the book you are talking about is Rick Darke's book named The Eastern Deciduous Forest Garden.

It is good to check to see if the source is right for your zone. Idealy, it is best to use plants within a 100 miles of your location to the north or south, but many still adapt to far greater conditions, as Baldcypress and Oakleaf Hydranea are native to the South, but can grow up into New England or Wisconsin. On the other hand, the Echinacea Coneflower hybrids between Purple Coneflower and Ozark Coneflower (yellow flowers) make a difference. The "Big Sky" series of hybrids produced in the Atlanta area are not good too far north, and the 'Meadowbrite" series produced in the Chicago area are not good for zones 6b and south.

we had a Reel One, too. My daughter and her husband decided to Go Green and used it for awhile. It takes a lot of muscle, too! They have a little yard, but it has a hill. Our mower doesn't have a bagger, either - We just rake it all onto a tarp and drag it over, but it takes two of us!

wow - a truck load of manure takes a lot of muscle and a chipper is expensive. We use the lawn mower to chop things up for the compost. It is not a fancy deal to compost, though it can get nasty if the garbage is not layers with leaves or the weeds I've pulled....

sorry I'm so slow to reply (this does not work like facebook or e-mail and I'm still getting used to it)
we had a friend bring us a truckload of horse manure a year ago this fall and spread it on the garden. We rake our leaves over the top. My husband build a cage composter (primitive thing) that I can dump yard clippings as well as kitchen scraps (not meat) eggshells and coffee grounds... He lets it rot down for a couple of years or until it's full to overflowing before he pulls it apart and spreads it on the garden. We have sandy soil that dries out quickly, so mulch helps keep it moist.