Re: Prairie plantings
- To:
- Subject: Re: Prairie plantings
- From: L*
- Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 07:55:07 -0000
Hello Pat
I wanted to do this a couple of years ago, using mainly
meadow flowers from the UK. On a gardening tv programme, it
was suggested that you need to rake vigorously the grass,
then scatter seed on top. I tried this. It was a
spring/summer of drought and nothing germinated, absolutely
nothing. Something might have happened if we'd had a bit of
rain. If you want to keep your original grass, I've since
watched gardeners on television, and they've cleared a bit
of grass and dug holes and planted amongst the grass (I seem
to remember someone using quite small plants as well, maybe
even plug plants). If you wanted to save money, you could
still grow native plants from seeds, but grow them into pots
first and once established, plant them out into the lawn.
Otherwise, do as Marilyn suggested. I love these American
prairie type plantings (even more than an English herbaceous
border). I hope it works well.
Louise, southern England
>- -----Original Message-----
>From: owner-perennials@mallorn.com
[owner-perennials@mallorn.com] On
>Behalf Of Pat
>Sent: Friday, November 12, 1999 3:23 PM
>To: Perennials list
>Subject: something to ponder for me
>
>Since I can't grow anything right now (despite 70 degree
temps in Nov in
>Zone 5), and I don't have money yet to order for next year,
I'm planning
>a garden in my head and need advice.
>
>I have an area of my yard I would like to turn into sort of
a *tamed
>prairie*. It's full sun, out of range of the hose
(although I could
>carry a bit of water if necessary), and all grass (lawn) at
this time.
>I have horrendous clay soil -when amended is nice, but left
as is, is
>atrocious. How do I start my prairie? I have the plants
picked out,
>natives and such, but I'd like to know if I need to till up
the grass,
>remove it all together, or can I sprinkle seed over the
grass and let
>the growing plants shade it out . . . .what does anyone
suggest?
>
>I'm open to any and all suggestions - since I have all
winter to plot
>and plan.
>
>Thanks in advance.
>- --
>Pat Mitchell
>pattm@execpc.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
