Yard Pictures: The Prairie Garden
Mar. 26th, 2022 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis set of pictures features the Prairie Garden. See the Forest Garden, the South Lot, the West Edge, the Savanna, and the House Yard sets.
Here is the prairie garden looking east. When I was little, most of this space used to be a vegetable garden. Now the west edge is a blackberry patch, in which I have planted various types of blackberries and a few domestic black raspberries. Some black raspberries grow along the southwest edge. I did not plant these, they are volunteers from others I have planted or that birds brought in. The middle is a mix of grasses and sedges, cup plants, goldenrods, and other wildflowers. In several places we have planted little bluestem and big bluestem. The east end has some edible plants. The prairie garden is one of the wettest parts of the yard.
Toward the east end of the prairie garden is an area with some edible plants. It's always had some wild strawberries. Last year I planted some wild leeks, which I don't think survived; and some sunchokes, which grew to towering heights. You can still see some of their big stems toward the right.
This is the prairie garden looking west. In the foreground is a patch of big bluestem. Patches of dark green are daffodils coming up.
This mossy path leads from the prairie garden into the ritual meadow.
This is the ritual meadow looking southeast.
At the west edge is a lot of brush. That standing snag used to be a big old maple that once held a treehouse.
This is the firepit. It is edged with bricks. I've been piling sticks and brush in it for weeks.
This is the view from behind the firepit looking north toward the remains of the old barn. There are a lot of mulberry trees growing there now.
This mossy path leads from the ritual meadow to the parking lot.
Here is a closeup of the moss.
Here is the prairie garden looking east. When I was little, most of this space used to be a vegetable garden. Now the west edge is a blackberry patch, in which I have planted various types of blackberries and a few domestic black raspberries. Some black raspberries grow along the southwest edge. I did not plant these, they are volunteers from others I have planted or that birds brought in. The middle is a mix of grasses and sedges, cup plants, goldenrods, and other wildflowers. In several places we have planted little bluestem and big bluestem. The east end has some edible plants. The prairie garden is one of the wettest parts of the yard.
Toward the east end of the prairie garden is an area with some edible plants. It's always had some wild strawberries. Last year I planted some wild leeks, which I don't think survived; and some sunchokes, which grew to towering heights. You can still see some of their big stems toward the right.
This is the prairie garden looking west. In the foreground is a patch of big bluestem. Patches of dark green are daffodils coming up.
This mossy path leads from the prairie garden into the ritual meadow.
This is the ritual meadow looking southeast.
At the west edge is a lot of brush. That standing snag used to be a big old maple that once held a treehouse.
This is the firepit. It is edged with bricks. I've been piling sticks and brush in it for weeks.
This is the view from behind the firepit looking north toward the remains of the old barn. There are a lot of mulberry trees growing there now.
This mossy path leads from the ritual meadow to the parking lot.
Here is a closeup of the moss.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-03-28 11:30 am (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2022-03-29 01:05 am (UTC)Thank you!
>> I'm so fond of flat land and huge horizons, too. <<
Illinois has a lot of wide-open space, but it's low rolling hills. Some of the rivers have upland forest above riverbottom land with very steep ridges. Montana now, most of that is flat like it was ironed. Big Sky Country is very pretty. The Dakotas are deceptive. They look flat, but have corrugated land with hollows about head-high. If you know what you're doing, you can hide whole armies in there, and it's been done.
>> Looking forward to seeing dafs blooming.<<
A few more have opened, but they're all early yellow trumpets, none of the fancy stuff yet. I have all different kinds -- yellow, orange, white, pink, some doubles, some multifloras, a few split-cups, and so on.