My prairie was going into semi-dormant state due to the hot, dry spring until it rained about three weeks ago. A little rain really made a difference. Flowers started blooming again. The little bluestem grass started growing again. Now we are all watching the skies for more rain or waiting for me to flip the switch on the sprinkler system.
I love the shot of the front yard prairie, below. It looks like the real thing! It is hard to believe it is really part of a 9,800 square foot residential lot in the middle of the city. Click this link for a 2009 post and see what the rest of the neighborhood looks like.
Your yard looks great. I was wondering where you got your buffalo grass seed?
ReplyDeleteThanks Marti. I got buffalo grass seed from Wells Brothers Feed Store in Plano. The variety is Top Gun. The grasses in the pictures in this post are little bluestem. I got them at Lowe's at the end of the season. They were about a dollar each. I divided them which made the price about 50 cents each.
ReplyDeleteMy god, that's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't run into any trouble with town or naighbors over your unusual yard, have you? This guy just did: http://www.icode6.net/native_suburbia/ I'm guessing that the native plants you are working with have less of a tendency to look weedy, so hopefully you are more safe from lawn-loving conformists. Your yard should win awards.
Hi Michelle. Thanks for the comments. I am not sure awards are in order unless it is for trick photography.
ReplyDeleteI have not had any problems with my yard, but I suppose it could happen at any time. I put a lot of effort into designing my front yard because I knew it would be different and I did not want any problems. I keep my taller and wilder-looking plants in the backyard.
I have seen Don and Benia’s site. Too bad they were not able to work things out with their village before the mowers came. I am guessing they did not get approval from the director of public works before planting their parkway, as required by village ordinance. If that is the case, unfortunately, the village was within their rights to mow the parkway. I hope they are able to come up with a plan that works for everyone.
Very nice! Love that 2nd image especially.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your prairie! It looks so much more like home. And I know the butterflies and hummingbirds think so.
ReplyDeleteI bet your neighbors are jealous.
PS When do you cut back your bloomers? My front wildflower swath looked ready but then new blooms have started...
ReplyDeleteKathleen, I am not sure “jealous” is the right word for the way my neighbors feel about my yard, but let’s go with that.
ReplyDeleteI usually only cut back flowers when they are looking a little messy or to try to tempt them into blooming some more. In mid-June, I cutback the bluebonnets since they had gone to seed. I also dead headed the four-nerve daisies and took a couple of inches off the autumn sage. I do some selective trimming throughout the year to keep things tidy.
Did rain trigger the new blooms on your flowers? I have some American Basket flowers that looks horrible, but after the rain a few weeks ago, they got some new growth and started to bloom again. They still look bad, but they are blooming again.
Would LOVE to have you come do my home. I live in Wylie (newly re-located from Dallas (city) ) and don't want to water grass! Want a "little house on the prairie" and have the land to do it! How do I contact you?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I do not have a landscape business. I have my own little house on a little prairie that is still not finished!
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