Prairie Garden Restoration - Peg and Jim Hassett's Photos

We first planted a small prairie garden in 1979, and expanded it to about a thousand square feet in 1981. (I've included a few 1982 photos of Janice and the garden, for historical perspective.) After about 20 years, the eastern third gradually died back due to shade and competition, mainly from a nearby row of Amur maples. We finally took out the maples in 2004, and cleared the accumulation of weeds and tree seedlings in 2005. In June of 2006 we bought prairie seed from Prairie Restorations and replanted the area on 23 June.

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Peg and Jim Hassett > 1982: Janice standing near the then-year-old expanded prairie garden, with a neighbor's house in the background. Lots of black-eyed Susan and common ox-eye flowers (and grasses from the previous summer)

Peg and Jim Hassett > A better picture of Janice in 1982, with a bit of the garden.

Peg and Jim Hassett > Janice behind some of the prairie plants.

Peg and Jim Hassett > 1 July 2006: There was little to see for the first week, except for a few "voluntary" black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica) plants that we left in place.

Peg and Jim Hassett > 15 July: Prairie plants are typically not fast starters, and even by mid-July there wasn't a lot of green showing, and much of that was weeds. The unusually hot, dry weather was less than ideal.

Peg and Jim Hassett > 22 July: After about a month, there was an uneven carpet of green. Out of concern for the fragile seedlings, we still didn't try to go in and pull the many weeds.

Peg and Jim Hassett > 19 August: The new growth thickened substantially in the second month, with fairly dense growth of grasses in most of the garden.

Peg and Jim Hassett > We were surprised to see lots of blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis) starting to bloom, with inflorescences looking like eyebrows on stalks. This is the shortest of the grasses we planted, and the most drought-tolerant.

Peg and Jim Hassett > Here's a close shot of one of the first of the blue grama grass inflorescences to show its anthers.

1982: Janice standing near the then-year-old expanded prairie garden, with a neighbor's house in the background. Lots of black-eyed Susan and common ox-eye flowers (and grasses from the previous summer)