Meadow Dreaming
The beauty of a backyard meadow is eclipsed only by its ecological benefits. Pollinators frequent the colorful meadow I’ve been cultivating in the Galena area for the past dozen years. The microorganisms in the ground grow more diverse every year, and the accumulation of organic matters makes the meadow increasingly drought tolerant. The biodiversity has developed to the point I have little insect pressure, few weeds and I don’t need to fertilize.
No, you cannot toss native seeds on the ground and watch a pretty meadow spring up. Although some have suggested this, I know the result in our climate will be mostly weeds. Plus the native seed savers shudder at this kind of waste. They consider native seeds to be precious and want them to have the best chance of germination, which would be in winter under grow lights.
Yes, there is a learning curve to meadow making. Yes, there are lots of books written on this mega trend. Yes, you have to include plants suited to our very dry climate and very lean soil. But it’s worth the effort for the beauty and for the environment.
Landscape designer Owen Wormser has a new book “Lawns Into Meadows” in which he sites studies indicating meadows sequester amounts of carbon on par with oceans and forests. A mature meadow will have roots that go far deeper in the ground than turf. These shrubs, perennials, bulbs and grass will pull carbon out of the air, prevent erosion, feed pollinators and delight us.
In our Zone 6 or 7, developing a meadow takes all four seasons. In winter you dream about what you want to grow and begin starting tough perennial seeds that will eventually punctuate your meadow design with drifts of color. I will later write blogs for developing your meadow in the coming three seasons.
Seed Starting for Drifts of Perennials:
Try to envision drifts of flowers and grass in different colors with different bloom times. I suggest tall, tough perennials that like to self seed or multiply by rhizomes. This way, you pepper your planting bed with small plants in the spring and give them a few years to fill in. If you can afford to pepper your bed with nursery plants, lucky you!
To save on cost, I’ve grown most of my perennials from seed. Perennials have the best chance of surviving if you plant them out at the 4-inch pot size in the spring and get them thriving before the stress of summer heat. They might not bloom the first year. Be patient, because they are working on the kind of roots that will take them through the winter, so you don’t have to replant things in the spring. I’ve bought seeds from Swallowtailgardenseeds.com or Johnnyseeds.com. Native seed companies can also be a good source.
Perennials often germinate better after a few weeks in the refrigerator to stratify them. So quick, buy your seeds, so they can chill, and you still have time to get them into planting trays and under a shop lamp. The natural cycle of perennials is to remain cold until moist warmth triggers germination. Even after they’ve chilled, most perennials take longer than other flower seeds to germinate, so be patient. Everything you need to know is on the seed packet. If all goes according to plan, your can have small plants to arrange in patches after the last frost.
FAVORITE PERENNIALS THAT THRIVE IN SIERRA NEVADA
Asclepias tuberosa (orange butterfly weed). This gem has a long bloom time, is pretty in bouquets, feeds the monarch butterflies, has cool seed heads in fall, and self seeds but never too much. I recommend you stratify first, and then start it in a 4-inch pot to make room for a taproot, and let it dry out well between watering. Wait to plant out when there is NO chance of frost. (When you are adding bulbs to your meadow in the fall, plant your daffodils in between the butterfly weed, because they are the last perennials to emerge in spring and the daffodils will remind you to be patient in this spot and rip it up.)
Echinacea (purple coneflowers). I cannot imagine a meadow without this easy going classic. It’s good as a cut, keeps blooming if you cut, has great seed heads in winter, seeds itself around politely and never seems to need dividing.
Echinops (blue globe thistle). Every crafter needs this bloom. It brings a pop of blue and texture to bouquets, has a long bloom time, provides garden architecture, and dries beautifully for use in wreaths and dried arrangements. It self seeds politely. It is NOT invasive like some thistles.
Goldstrum Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Fulgida). Many of the lovely colored variations of hybrid Rudbeckias in the nursery are short lived. But they are fun while the last and make nice focal flowers in bouquets. Because a meadow is dynamic with reseeding and rhyzome spread, death makes way for another seedling. I also highly recommend Rudbeckia triloba, an annual, that happily reseeds maybe too happily and needs it’s own space. The finch love it, and it’s airy in a bouquet.
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot or bee balm). Tall, bright lavender blooms with a spicy scent making this a sweet secondary flower in bouquets. The flowers are edible. For a longer cutting season, you can prune portions at different heights midway in the spring to initiate multiple side shoots. A polite creeper. I also include hybrids with brighter colors in my meadows.
Veronica spiccata (veronica or speedwell) White, pink or blue varieties all feature a long bloom season. Cutting will bring another flush. These old fashioned plants add contrast to bouquets. They need to be divided every four or five years.
Agastache Cana-Hybr. (Bolero Agastache). Dramatic rose-purple tails appear from June to October. This tall, heat tolerant agastache blooms in the first year, works well as a cut flower and adds architecture to the meadow.
Solidago (goldenrod). Some people are nervous about goldenrod being bullies as they spread their rhizomes, but I find them easy to keep in check if you cut them often and don’t overwater them. Just don’t put them in a spot getting lots of water of they will take over. They can be cut all summer long as a lime green filler in bouquets, and then leave a portion for the flash of gold in the fall.
Physotegia (obedient plant). The queen of the fall meadow, physotegiea will also creep a little, so don’t overwater and cut them hard, I prefer the vivid lavender pink flowering varieties, and I cut nearly every spiky stem for my fall bouquets.
I recommend you grow many plants of each type above, because your drifts will be six to nine plants to a section. You want every plant 12 inches apart and on a drip. Obviously they will look lonely when planted out in spring, so meet me back at the blog in April when I talk about the steps in planting. I will share some anchor plants you might want to buy to amp up your meadow. We can also talk about starting some annual seeds to fill in the gaps. This is a four-season project so we will have a blog for each season.
Happy seed starting!