There is so much to talk about if you are starting a native garden from scratch. Think soil type, sun exposure and competition from weeds! Take a look at what kind of soil you have. Does it drain well? Does it stay wet for a while? Does it stay dry? Does it have a lot of dark organic material, loam, sand, silt or clay?
These are the main types of soil moisture:
Wet (W) Hydric – Wet, plants periodically or often inundated by water.
Wet Mesic (WM) – Water removed slowly enough to keep soil wet for a significant part of growing season.
Mesic (M) – Moist, adequate soil moisture retention year-round.
Dry Mesic (DM) – Sub-xeric – Moist to dry, seasonally moist, periodically dry.
Dry (D) -Xeric – Dry and drought resistant, little moisture retention, excessively drained.
How much sun does the area get? Full sun all day, partial sun or full shade?
When you know what types of plants work well in your yard, plan how you will make your garden. Draw a design beforehand. Sometimes using a garden hose to make borders works because you can change designs easily. I am not a landscaper, but simple tricks like plant in three’s, plant tallest in back, plant about 12” apart, plant by different seasons so that you don’t have bare areas, keep an eye on colors. Make it interesting.
Prairie Moon Nursery (https://www.prairiemoon.com) has excellent types of methods to prepare the soil for planting. From complete weed kill using chemicals to smothering weeds with cardboard. The main reason is that you don’t want weeds to compete for nutrients with your plants.
When planting, dig a hole larger than the plant’s roots. Carefully, remove the plant from the pot. Sometimes, if the plant is root bound or wrapped around itself, you can spread the roots out. Carefully, place plant at same ground level it was growing in and fill in with good potting soil. The best I have used is called ”Pro-mix” at Menards. Make sure soil is pressed down around roots so roots don’t dry out. Water well. A half-strength mixture of MiracleGrow fertilizer helps with transplant shock. Water frequently for the first couple of weeks.
Over wintering is easy–do nothing! The plants go dormant and conserve energy for next year by themselves!