I've spent 2 years preparing the soil and last week I finally got to plant! I took all the wildflower seeds and mixed them up in the garden cart with a mixture of peat, perlite and the dregs of potting soil bags, moistened well and stirred thoroughly. I broadcast the seeds by hand and then overseeded with three kinds of native grasses.
Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepsis) went along one edge. It was the most expensive and makes fairly low growing mounds so I wanted to show it off.
Side oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) is the tallest so went in a patch at the back as viewed from the house.
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) covered the rest of the bed.
I've read that most of these plants will spend their first year growing deep roots and that it won't look like much above the soil surface. I will post photos as things sprout.
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My parents live on an acreage and this summer had a large portion seeded professionally. They said it'll take a few years for things to get rooted, then about year 3 or 4 flowers will start doing their thing (theye seeded and plugged). I wish I had enough land on my small lot to do this (but I also have to think about resale value--most people want some lawn, so I've left SOME lawn).
ReplyDeleteI live in a semi-rural area but still would probably get in trouble with the town if I tried this in the front yard. My 'meadow' is in the backyard and pretty well screened by hedges from the neighbors. You could probably get away with a small bed if you stick to low growing varieties and keep it away from the lot line.
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