 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||
"As
the sun was setting, we came upon a place where wildflowers bloomed in mounds
of pink and lavender and blue, like soft pillows."
Jean Van Leeuwengs from, "Going West"
Prairie gardens
require no covering, no pruning, no spraying, no irrigating and little, if any,
fertilizing saving prairie gardeners loads of dosh and hours of hard
work.
By the third year,
there is little for the prairie gardener to do but open a cold one, sit in
the middle and enjoy it!
Prairie style landscapes and gardens
take
their inspiration from the great North American grasslands and from the Russian
and Chinese steppes Prairies are divided into three types—dry, mesic
(moderately moist) and wet. Mesic and dry prairie plants prefer loose soil with
good drainage. Wet species grow in poorly drained areas, where water stands
after a heavy rain. Using a wide range of prairie species can help disguise
problem areas, such as a boggy hollow or gravel hill.
Transplants are more costly than seed, per
square meter covered, however there is probably less labour involved to achieve an
established prairie style garden Plants offer many advantages over seeds: Most
will flower the first year they are transplanted ,seeds on the other hand may
require two to three years or more to bloom. Plants are easy to place on the
site prior to planting according to your plan or design to create the desired
effect. Weeds are easily recognised from the garden transplants, whereas slower
growing seedlings can be difficult to distinguish from the weeds in a seeded
prairie.
However, prairie gardens remain a great choice for smaller, more informal areas. providing very quick and sometimes astonishing results.
Grasses are probably the most highly developed and most widely distributed of all plants.
Many grasses are undeniably elegant and graceful adding structure and form to a garden. In the breeze they bring movement and sound .
Grasses are the most undemanding of plants they require little care except a brush up and trim once in a while.
|
|
|
|
Drifts of Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' sprinkled with a totally random mixture of red Poppies and Michealmas daisies glorious through the late summer. The herbaceous stems and seed heads erect amongst the bleached winter grasses give interest, form, shape,and subdued colour, not to mention the sound and movement they bring to the garden right through the winter until early spring.
Miscanthus Morning light. aka. Eulalia grass.
Stipa tenuissima. aka. Oat grass.
Deschampsia. aka. Hair grass
Deschampsia. aka. Hair grass 'Northern lights'
Corynephorus canescens.
Festuca amethystina.
|
Easy to grow low maintenance prairie grasses and plants are among nature’s most spectacular creations, producing drifts of waist-high fronds stippled with blooms of brilliant yellow, flaming crimson and soft lavender. Because of their extensive sophisticated root systems, prairie plants and grasses can be the answer to those problem spots in the garden, particularly where the soil is shallow poor or dry. Once established, they require little attention. Grasses offer an amazing and diverse range shape colour and seed head to choose from recommended varieties are Miscanthus sinensis'Morning Light, Miscanthus sinensis ''Zebrinus', Molinia caerula 'Karl Foerster', Stipa gigantea and Stipa tenuissima Prairie grasses and plants need little except for full sunlight, prairie grasses and plants adapt to most conditions and can be grow in a diversity of soil, from clay to sand, and are tolerant a wide range of soil fertility and acidity. Prairie plants also grow in dry shallow soils or marshy soils that most plants cannot tolerate. When planning your Prairie Garden take time to consider a few points before ordering plants. look at the Grasses Page and read the description and decide which plants ,
Sketch out roughly the garden shape and fill in the different areas on the sketch with different autumn colours and add splashes or dots of vibrant herbaceous colours and consider whether you will,
Although the prospect of a low maintenance trouble free prairie garden is attractive the biggest challenge of prairie gardening you will face, if you are growing from seed, is controlling weeds during the first two or three years. Prairie plants spend the first years of their life developing their complex and evolved roots system while common ground weeds put all their energy into producing into above ground growth, crowding out young prairie seedlings and denying them the light they most need. That's why we. recommended you use plant good strong pot or nursery grown plants from the P&G as quicker less labour intensive solution. Irrespective of whether you intend to use seeds or plants the area to be planted must be completely free of weeds and grasses. Heavy clay soils should be cultivated or dug to a depth of 30 cm (12 inches) to break up layers of compacted soil. Organic matter such as compost, peat moss, well rotted manure or leafmold and sharp sand can be worked into poorer clay soils to improve aeration and water infiltration. Very dry sandy soils in particular will be improved by the addition of organic matter to increase their nutrient and water holding properties. Mowing and raking every spring also helps control weeds and promote growth. You should mow in late June with the mower blade set about 200 mm (8 inches high). The growing tips of grasses is just above the ground and they grow from the bottom up unlike other garden plants that have their growing tip at the top. This will cut back early growing annual weeds, but not affect slower-growing prairie grass and plants. Prairie gardens require no covering, no pruning, no spraying, no irrigating and little, if any, fertilizing saving prairie gardeners loads of dosh and hours of hard work. By the third year, there is little for the prairie gardener to do but open a cold one, sit in the middle and enjoy it! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grasses in Prairie
Style Planting and the 'New European' style.
Join our mail list
and
keep abreast of what's new and what's looking good at the P&G
