Prairie Wildflower Gardens

Created by Megan F. Henson, intern under Jeff Carter ~ MSU-Extension, Natural Resources

"As the pace of life accelerates and time and land assume more value, small things of beauty become increasingly precious. We can savor the grandeur of estate gardens in the sweeping landscapes of parks; but to satisfy our needs for personal expression, the greatest rewards from the least effort come from flower gardening." ~Philip Edinger, Flower Garden Plans, Ortho Books

Benefits

· attracting wildlife, ranging from butterflies to birds to bats.
· establishing a landscape that will last a long time and requires minimal maintenance
· aesthetic values, photography, painting, and stimulation for children
· natural insect control
· food production, such as herbs and berries
· property value increases with landscaped areas
· preserves part of our natural heritage and restores valuable habitat
· requires no fertilizers, no watering, no spraying, and little weeding

Designing Your Prairie Wildflower Garden
*The following is designed for gardens of one acre or less*

Get familiar with your site ~ First, get a soil test done. Next, determine water flow patterns for your site. It's best to grab a raincoat and get out during a storm to study what direction water is flowing or if it's pooling anywhere. Then, determine sun/shade characteristics. You will want a site that is in full sun if possible.

Develop a layout for your garden ~ You may want to integrate walkways or enhance water features or topography.

Select plants ~ It's best to choose native species because they will grow without human intervention (which is less work for you!). Match species to your climate zone and soil type. This will conserve water, because native plants are more adapted to our climate. Commercial wildflower/meadow mixes that promise quick results may be annuals and require reseeding. If it is not practical to do a soil moisture analysis or determine water flow patterns, here is a list of prairie plants for all three soil types:

Dry	Medium	Wet
Sky blue aster	Sky blue aster	New England aster
Butterflyweed	Butterflyweed	Red Milkweed
Canada milk vetch	White/Cream false indigo	White false indigo
Pale purple coneflower	Yellow coneflower	Yellow coneflower
Western sunflower	Ox-eye sunflower	Wild iris
Rough blazingstar	Prairie blazingstar	Dense blazingstar
Dotted Mint	New Jersey tea	Turk's cap lily
Purple prairie clover	White prairie clover	Sneezeweed
Prairie buttercup	Little bluestem	Big bluestem
Black-eyed Susan	Sweet black-eyed Susan	Sweet black-eyed Susan
Stiff goldenrod	Stiff gonldenrod	Cardinal flower
Canada wild rye	Canada wild rye	Great blue lobelia
Switchgrass	Switchgrass	Fox/Porcupine sedge

Planting Your Prairie Wildflower Garden

Eliminate existing vegetation ~ This can be done chemically or mechanically, but the mechanical method is more ecologically friendly. First, cover the entire area with plastic sheets (dark or clear), old newspaper, or flat boards. If vegetation is high, you should cut it down to 3-4" first. This keeps sun from the plants and will kill them (or in the case of clear plastic, the sun fries the existing vegetation, speeds germination, and burns the seedlings). Next, rototill or dig up the dead plants. Wait several weeks to allow any plants left to germinate and then turn them under again. You may have to repeat this all summer if the area is especially weedy. If the site is just grass, another option is to rent a sod cutter to slice off the turf. Usually grassy areas are not overwhelmed with weeds and do not require repetitive tilling.

Spreading Seeds ~ When you're positive that you have killed off all weeds, lightly rake the soil (so not to disturb any seeds that may be left which can germinate). Spread seed at approximately 1/2 lb per 1000 square feet. Roll or tramp soil to make sure there is good contact. NEVER plant seeds when the soil is wet. If you're spreading by hand, walk entire area in parallel lines and throw seeds in an arc motion. Then repeat walking at the direction perpendicular (rotate 90 degrees) from before. If you use a spreader, mix seeds with slightly moist sawdust to disperse the small seeds evenly among the large seeds. The sawdust also allows you to see where you've seeded. You may want to use this technique with hand spreading for this reason. Next, add mulch because wildflower seedlings are fragile. You can lightly spread grass clippings or shredded leaves. Straw or hay is not recommended because it usually contains seeds and your prairie garden could easily be turned into a hay field. Common filler is not recommended either because it usually has chemicals and pieces of non-native vegetation and weeds. Your watering regime will depend on your particular soil type and climate. Usually, watering is not needed unless your soil is particularly dry or you're in the midst of a drought.

Maintaining Your Prairie Wildflower Garden

As mentioned earlier, maintenance is very SIMPLE! You will want to mow your garden two to four times the first year to about 4-6". If the area is small, a scythe will also work. This keeps weeds and annuals from choking out the vulnerable prairie plants. Keep a look out for weeds and pull them up, being sure not to upset any wildflower seedlings. Mow once in early June the second year and if all goes well you can start burning the third year, early spring. An established wildflower/prairie garden only requires annual cutting or burning. Fire helps to burn away any excess fuels and adds nutrients to the soil. Also, it allows for seeds to germinate that previously were prevented from doing so because of other plants shading them. DO NOT TAKE FIRE LIGHTLY! Before you begin, make sure you have other people to assist you, plenty of water, wet brooms, rakes, and especially adequate firestops, such as a bluegrass lawn/pathway, driveway, road, river, or tilled earth. Burning should be done every two or three years. Contact your local township or fire marshal for the appropriate permission. If burning is illegal or impractical for your area, mow your garden at least once a year in early spring or late fall.

Some Extra Tips/Information

Your garden will require the most maintenance the first few months into the next few years. Nature's natural process, called succession, begins with a field full of weeds and eventually progresses into a beautiful field of wildflowers and grasses. But since you are trying to SKIP the weed stage, you will have to keep an eye out for aggressive weeds that can choke out the wildflowers/grasses and annuals which compete for moisture, nutrients, and sunlight. An easy method to deal with annuals is to wait until mid-June when they are much taller than the perennials and then cut them down to 12". This prevents them from seeding and saves you from pulling them out by hand.

Patience, Patience, Patience

Don't be discouraged if you don't see anything at first. A prairie wildflower garden can take three years to stabilize - not long considering you will enjoy its beauty for a lifetime! Perennials start growing "downward" first. So while only a tiny sprout can be seen at the surface, the roots are probably several feet down. That is why prairie gardens can survive harsher environments, including frost, drought, fires, and cutting.

For more information/nurseries contact:
Wild Ones, Ann Arbor, (313)663-4047
Grass Roots Landscaping, Inc., (313)227-1471
Nesta Prairie Perennials, Kalamazoo, (800)233-5025
Wetlands Nursery, Saginaw, (517)752-3492
Wildtype Native Plants and Seed, (517)336-0951

Good Luck!

Wildflower/Prairie Links

Wild-Flowers

National Wildflower Research Center

Native Plant Conservation Initiative

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Books

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