u/RatherBeAtRoo

I'm in southern ohio, on a large rural plot that was once a cow pasture. I have aspirations to turn part of the field into a native prairie some day.

I'm very new to gardening, especially when it comes to more mindful native gardening. We already have a decent amount of native plants growing naturally but there is a huge native plant sale tomorrow and I was thinking about stocking up on some flowering perennials and bushes.

My question is, for the first year doing this should I just dig holes and plant or put more work in plotting, mulching, etc.? Any certain plants y'all would recommend? Any other advice for a beginner?