Introducing Myself!

17 years ago

Hi everyone, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to this forum. I am very active on the Winter Sowing forum but would also like to become active here as well. I recently started a 1600 sq ft native praire in my back yard so I'll be bugging everyone with questions over the next few years. Hope it won't be too annoying!

I used the lasagna method of smothering last spring to start the area so weed problems have been very minimal. I won't be able to burn but plan on mowing once it is more established.

I have been using all the info at The Prairie Nursery site since it is applicable to my area (DuPage County outside of Chicago).

I am trying to stick with plants that are native to my county but have included some that are native to northern Il/southeastern Wisc. as well. My prairie could actually be referred to as an Oak savanna as I have 7 100' Oak trees in my yard. I have a small list of plants that are native only to Oak savannas so if anyone has more info on this type of prairie, please clue me in!

So, here I am. Hope to learn tons from all of you in the near and not so near future!

Cheryl ::]

(ccoupkir)

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Comments (4)

vera_eastern_wa
17 years ago
Well hello there Cheryl :D

Vera
willameadows
17 years ago
Hi Cheryl!
I'm new to this site as well. I am preparing to establish a small camas meadow in my backyard (Predominately Camassia quamash, Pacific NW native lily), so I will also be asking for advice. My biggest challenge is my husband, whose definition of a landscape is a large green lawn bordered by a few shrubs. Personally I would like to eliminate the lawn altogether. Our kids are grown so we don't need a soccer field! We live in a small town in western Oregon, in a 100 year old house on a large lot. I would really love to maximize the beauty and usefulness of our small corner of the world with plants that don't require an exorbitant amount of water (nonexistant here in the summer), fertilizer, pesticide, etc. I would also like to include more edible plants in the landscape. Camas produces an edible bulb (not that I would ever eat it...) and is historically very significant, as it was an important food plant for indigenous people. The bulbs were even used as a form of currency for trading. I purchased some seed a couple years ago, not thinking that I would get many to germinate, as I didn't know much about it, and now I have several thousand bulbs. Enough for a meadow! Although they won't bloom for a couple years. If anyone can tell me what companion plants would have been found in a camas meadow in the Willamette valley, I would love to find out. I know of Deschampsia caespitosa, but that's about it (have some seedlings of that one).

Good luck with your prairie, Cheryl. We moved here to Oregon from Illinois several years ago, but I wasn't much into native gardening when I lived there so am not familiar with Illinois native plants.
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ahughes798
17 years ago
Bottlebrush grass would look really nice in your savannah. Welcome. Whereabouts in IL did you live? April
joepyeweed
17 years ago
A few websites for us Illinois native plant people.

I just found this site and it has great pictures.
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/

and the old stand by:
http://www.il.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/plants/npg/index.html