As I wrote in an earlier post about woodland plant communities, the easiest way to create a successful native landscape is to replicate your local plant community.
If you’re unfamiliar with the plant communities in your area, plan a visit to a local park or remnant to observe what is growing together and in what conditions. If you are new to the area – find a naturalist or sign up for a nature walk at the local nature center.
Although we have very few prairie remnants remaining in Minnesota and nation-wide, there are several good examples of both remnants and restorations nearby.
This year especially, with the nation being in the worst drought in in more than 50 years, we could learn a lot from the deep-rooted prairie plants that reach depths of up to 15 feet along with the ability to sequester carbon.
Not far from my home is a remnant short-grass prairie. Probably extensively grazed at one time, but never plowed due to the very poor sandy soils and slope. It has some wonderful herbaceous perennial natives and grasses that I have replicated in my own yard on my sunny, sandy slope. Stiff Goldenrod (Oligoneuron rigidum) and Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) dominate a large portion of the remanant and provide late summer interest. Stiff Goldenrod is an excellent native to plant for pollinators.
Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) loves the top of the sandy slope in hot, dry conditions. This remnant is home to one of the largest patches of whorled milkweed in our municipality. Another larval host plant for the Monarch Butterfly, it also attracts other milkweed insects including the Small and Large Milkweed Bugs.
One of the lowest growing milkweeds with fine, needle-like foliage. It works well at the front of landscapes or intermixed with short prairie grasses such as Blue Grama or June Grass.
Blue Giant Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) occupy another section of this prairie remnant.
Downslope of this remnant knoll is a large prairie restoration that the our city planted over 15 years ago. It’s dominated by taller prairie grasses including Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans), as well as other forbs not present on the remnant. The conditions are the same – sandy soils, hot and sunny.
The other great thing about this park is that the city allows the prairie area to be used for off-leash dog walking. People gain a better appreciation of the importance of the prairie as they walk their dog.
Large swaths of Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) thrive in these poor soils. Another excellent native pollinator plant flowering in late June.
Scattered throughout this portion of the prairie is Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). A favorite nectar plant for Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies and another larval host plant for Monarchs.
Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canandense) also remains dominant in this restoration as it has evolved since seeding. It’s tall (four foot) flower stalks help it to compete for light alongside the large prairie grasses. This prairie native seems to be plagued by Japanese Beetles of all the species in this prairie.
I’ve had great success with all of these prairie species in my own landscape. What was formerly a steeply sloped hillside of lawn, is now a wonderful mix of these native prairie species and many others.
I encourage you to get to know your local landscape, so you can find drought-tolerant native species that have the ability to withstand the extreme weather fluctuations we are experiencing and may continue to experience in the future.
© 2012 – 2013, Heather Holm. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Heather Holm
Hi Heather, We are in a drought situation in N. Ill. But the prairie plants, with their deep roots, are green, in bloom, and the pollinators are buzzing all around them. What’s nice is that those “bugs” prefer to live outside or homes and not in them!
Great to hear the pollinators have some flowers to visit, especially since the drought looks quite severe in your area.
Heather recently posted..Native Plant of the Week: Nodding Onion ~ Allium cernuum
I love the roadside stands along the highway of meadows that have some natives….we have too many invasives and weeds that take over the disturbed areas where roads were dug…hard to find those meadows here so I created one that is also doing well in the drought. Love the ones you visited and shared here.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Perfection
Hi Donna,
Yes it’s a shame how many invasives invade disturbed areas. Your meadow sounds wonderful, I’m glad to hear its doing well in the drought.
Heather recently posted..Native Plant of the Week: Nodding Onion ~ Allium cernuum
How beautiful this all can be if we try to become educated about it..Michelle
Rambling Woods recently posted..Shadow Shot~Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) Damselfly
I agree Michelle, people would gain a better appreciation for their local landscapes with more education.
Heather recently posted..Native Plant of the Week: Nodding Onion ~ Allium cernuum
Inspiring . . . as always Heather! Wonderful article!!
Carol Duke recently posted..Mid July Garden Walkabout Warm To Cool Temperature in Color
Thanks Carol!
Heather recently posted..Native Plant of the Week: Nodding Onion ~ Allium cernuum
I grow a lot of butterfly weeds and the whorled leaf milkweeds in my sand-hill garden… They are purdy, and the monarchs are happy to visit and raise families…
I find it humorous that you are advocating desmodium… While I like it, it has attractive flowers and is host plant for the long tailed skipper butterfly, adds nitrogen to the soil,
… those “beggar lice” seed-heads… places this native plant in a possible problem-weed category.
I reckon that it’s not that great a stretch of the garden… I’ve found posts advocating growing Cnidoscolus stimulosus, and I hate it even while shooting pictures of the butterflies nectaring at it’s flowers…
stone recently posted..Gardening for Butterflies
Hi Stone,
Yes the Desmodium has some velcro-like seeds for sure. I just pulled some yesterday from my dog’s coat. I still think all the other attributes outweigh this though, and the seeds are pretty easy to pry off clothing. In my landscape, I usually cut the seedheads off and place on the ground away from humans and pets. We do however have a nasty native plant stickseed (Hackelia virginiana) in the midwest which produces absolutely horrible burs, people have to throw out clothing or gloves when they brush against it. We actively pull and manage this native, especially in woodland restorations where it crops up after invasive plant removal.
Heather recently posted..Native Plant of the Week: Common Boneset ~ Eupatorium perfoliatum
Doggone me, if that Hackelia virginiana doesn’t look like a plant that I’ve been encouraging, believing that it was a comfrey…
The only problems I’ve had with that hackelia is that it’s a biennial, and those little blooms only open for a day, bit of a tease… expecting a show, and never getting it.
stone recently posted..Gardening for Butterflies