Free Garden Catalogs - i want a butterfly garden, but the plants are sooo expensive?

i want a butterfly garden, but the plants are sooo expensive?

could i try to grow them from seeds or is it to late for this year? i live in zone 5. if it is to late and i want to do this for next year, when should i be starting the seeds indoors? i have never grown anything. here is a link to the garden that i am going to try to grow. it is the second one. i also want to include some coneflower and some blazingstars http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/gardens/butterfly/designs.html anytips are appreciated

Public Comments

Buy wild flowers seed and sow them this coming fall.
Michigan Bulb Company has a butterfly and hummingbird garden, for $34.99. That is for 31 plants. Michigan bulb also has a great guarantee. If at any time you are not happy with your plant or if it dies they will replace it or refund your money. Right now they have a coupon, spend $40.00 and get $20.00 off. Your plants will be small this year but by next year they will be great!! Here is a link http://michiganbulb.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_70133_A_Butterfly+and+Hummingbird+Garden_E_
Coneflower (ecchinacea) isn't too expensive to purchase a few plants to start with--they spread quite widely after a year or so (ask how I know <G>) and wood violets can be divided if you know someone who might like to thin theirs out. Spearmint, or any mint for that matter, should not be put in the ground, but kept in pots, it spreads like wildfire and is very difficult to get rid of (I have experience with that little mistake, too <G>). Digitalis (foxglove) can be seeded directly, as can bee balm (bergamot), which, btw, also is invasive. Columbine can be seeded, but it takes a long time to come up, that's one for the fall. Some of these others are also best seeded in the fall for next year. Yarrow, btw, is also good direct seeded and a lovely butterfly plant for zone 5.
You won't get flowers from those seedlings for a couple of years at least. Most of those plants need to be divided every few years (start making contacts with fellow-gardeners soon while it's still ok to do some dividing), and it's a great way of getting a more mature plant to share. IN THE MEANTIME, what about throwing some seeds out for annuals that will flower this year. I pasted this from one of the sites below: Top annuals for attracting butterflies- Cleome, Cosmos, Impatiens, Marigolds, Nicotiana, Salvia, Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower), Zinnias.