planting a prairie in existing grass

22 years ago

I'm a novice (but very enthusiastic!) gardener that just moved into a new house over the winter. There's a steep grassy bank that gets a lot of sun, and I didn't want to mow it. I read that it was possible to plant a prairie by planting native species directly into the existing grass. So, I ordered a native butterfly garden kit that contained 32 plugs of a total of about 10 different plants, including some tall grasses (which I put at the top/back to provide a screen for the street and to keep them from blocking my view of the flowering plants). I planted the kit into an approximately 5 by 6 foot section of the bank, grouping them by species.

Was this a terrible idea? All of the plants seem happy, and the black-eyed-Susans are starting to bloom, but it looks sort of like a weedy mess. Is there some particular action that I should take for next year? Burning will not be an option because the bank is too close to the house.

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Comments (3)

Vera_EWASH
22 years ago
No expert here by no means..just a baby! But I would guess nothing but just wait for things to grow up and fill in....Sound like a pretty good idea if it works but I would have to wonder tho how your re-seeders will do for you next year if you have thick sod grasses (Is it sod grass?)..I should think for the most part they would blow away for lack of contact with your soil??

Vera
Havenheart
22 years ago
Hi! I have been using the same method to fill in some flowers in a meadow around an orchard. Except I've been using full size plants that I divided from others in my yard -- monarda, rudbeckia, echinacea. So far they are looking good.

Recently I met the owner of a native plant nursery in western WV, and he told me that the best way to make a "real" meadow is to totally clear the existing foliage with a bobcat; add some compost and weed-free topsoil, and start from scratch with plugs of native grasses and flowers.

I'm not sure if I'll ever have that energy!
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froggy
22 years ago
how u gonna keep the weeds down?

froggy