I'm far from content with our new front prairie beds -- there are some significant bare spaces I'm not showing, and I need to come back through to bulk up the grasses / sedges as well as add some drifts / clumps of early season flowers -- but it's coming along (even with nibbling rabbits). What has been most exciting is seeing, as I pull into the driveway, butterflies lifting from the blooms; hopefully, the neighbors see that, too! It's also been fascinating to watch things reseed and to anticipate what the garden will look like next year (and what editing will have to be done to maintain a cohesive appearance for this high-visibility location). The 600' is never watered, fertilized, and was planted directly into non-amended and compacted clay soil.
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| I anticipate the E. purpurea to be absent next year, so need to get E. pallida in there |
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| See the back bed? Needs more sedge. |
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| Common buckeye resting on smooth aster. |
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| Meadow blazingstar (or rough) with little bluestem. |
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| Look at the contrast in landscapes. |
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| The view to a neighbor who mows 2-3x a week. |
7 comments:
have you had any reaction from your neighbours?
Any, little trickle of interest, of how can I do that??
No, but I'm sure they all think it's high maintenance (which is why I'm NEVER out there, because it's LOW maintenance).
This is so beautiful and inspiring! Thank you.
I am so glad to see what the front garden is looking like this year - which is fabulous! Great job!
I'm hoping you'll start seeing a few tentative flower beds with native plants popping up along your street any day now. Maybe at houses with young children who enjoy seeing the butterflies and birds? You're setting a great example.
Cynthia
Kyla -- thanks for stopping by and saying so. :)
Cynthia -- Yeah, planted fall 2014, and last year I did not make additions like I needed to, so it could look even better this year.
This is the most interesting yard on the block by far. Imagine if everyone switched over. What a beautiful, unique street it would be.
Do you have a neighborhood where people take walks? I have a neighbor with a similar yard who is always outside searching milkweed for eggs to give to the neighbor kids to hatch or collecting seeds to share with others. I loved walking by and talking to her and it was a great way to inspire me to start the conversion away from lawn!
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