For the wild look - wildflowers

Sunset, Oct, 1991

CAREFREE FILLERS: tuck them around the garden this fall, and they'll bloom next spring and possibly reseed themselves for many springs thereafter unless you weed them out. Often they reappear where you least expect them--in gravel paths or cracks between bricks.

The six pictured above are favorites with garden designers we interviewed. With a little help from you, the lower-growing ones can multiply in garden beds (save the last seeds to scatter where you want them). The two poppies are best in wild gardens, meadows; or behind vegetable gardens; they turn straw-colored and rangy as their seed ripens.

Except where noted, all can be planted this month. Broadcast seeds on cultivated, well-drained soil (mix finest ones with sand first); keep moist until seeds germinate (about 14 to 21 days), and protect from birds. Or buy seedlings at nurseries.