Meadow pp.31-35 4/25/06 10:38 AM Page 31 the allure of the Meadow Garden Creating a meadow garden takes patience and determination, but the results can be incredibly rewarding. BY CAROLE OTTESEN ROB CARDILLO May / June 2006 31 Meadow pp.31-35 4/25/06 10:39 AM Page 32 HERE’S ROMANCE IN A MEADOW. A field of pliant, swaying grasses and bright summer flowers evokes a time when the world was a younger, simpler, safer place. Global warming T wasn’t happening, fish were jumping out of pristine lakes and streams, and genetically mod- ified corn and soybeans were pure science fiction. Along with a meadow’s aesthetic charms, the yearning for simpler times was and remains a force behind a meadow movement that came to life in the iconoclastic Sixties. Around that time, packets of mixed wild- flower seeds began appearing on the market. The idea was that one had only to scatter the seeds on the wait- ing ground and, presto, a meadow would spring up. We all know that is not what hap- More than 20 years ago, a meadow tolacca americana). Steve Davis, then pened. Typically, the results were disap- was started at River Farm, home of the horticulturist, theorized that the disc- pointing, if not disastrous. But the allure American Horticultural Society in harrowing brought to the surface poke- of meadows remained. With trial, error, Alexandria, Virginia. Two acres that had weed seeds that had lain dormant for 100 and energy, gardeners learned how to once been a field and had subsequently years. They had germinated swiftly and make them. And they now know that become a lawn, were disc-harrowed and easily outgrew the slower-developing while meadows appear to come about as seeded with a suitable wildflower mix. In wildflowers. Davis learned the hard way gracious, spontaneous gifts of nature, ap- record time, the entire two acres pro- that one of the toughest places to start a pearances deceive. duced a bumper crop of pokeweed (Phy- meadow is in what was once a field. Above: Broad drifts of soft purple Monarda fistulosa and golden yellow Heliopsis helianthoides flowers are punctuated with Liatris pycnostachya, Echinacea purpurea, and various grasses in this Connecticut meadow designed by landscape architect Richard Bergmann. Previous page: A variety of colors, heights, and contrasting textures provide a long season of interest in Stephanie Cohen’s meadow garden outside Philadelphia. KAREN BUSSOLINI 32 the American Gardener Meadow pp.31-35 4/26/06 1:27 PM Page 33 FROM THE GROUND UP “It is vital that competing weeds be elim- inated to allow the young seedlings to THE PRAIRIE DIFFERENCE grow,” says Neil Diboll, president of Prairie Nursery, a Westfield, Wisconsin, Although similar in ap- firm that has installed meadows and pearance, naturally oc- prairies around the country. (For more curring meadows and about prairies, see “The Prairie Differ- prairies are distinctly ence,” right.) The way to do that is to different types of plant prepare the site with a regimen tailored communities. A mead- specifically to existing conditions. ow is a transitional When old fields are prepared for plant- stage while a prairie is a ing by cultivation alone, “every cultivation comparatively stable cycle brings up new weed seeds to the soil community. surface where they can germinate,” ex- A meadow, often a plains Diboll. It may take cultivation every small opening in wood- two to three weeks for a year or more until land, may be a natural- the weeds are gone. ly occurring community Using an herbicide such as glyphosate of forbs and grasses to kill existing vegetation is tempting be- where erratic rainfall or Prairies, like this one in Missouri, are typically grasslands. cause the soil need not be turned, so seeds drought discourages remain buried, although several applica- the establishment of trees. Or it may be an abandoned field in transition to wood- tions may be needed during the season to land. To prevent the natural succession of a meadow to woodland—and to maintain kill weeds that arise at different times. a meadow garden—opportunistic woody plants must be removed and the meadow When a more recent attempt to start mowed periodically. a meadow at River Farm began in 2003, Before European settlement in North America, prairie was the dominant flora glyphosate was employed to prepare the of vast areas of the continent, covering over a million square miles. A prairie is a site (for more details on River Farm’s climax community, predominantly grassland, typically treeless, with only about 30 meadow and its establishment, see “How percent forbs and less than five percent shrubs. Prairies can be tall grass, short to Make a Meadow,” page 34). grass, or mixed, depending upon rainfall and site conditions. In nature, prairies While the large size of the River Farm often regenerate by fire; after the above-ground vegetation burns off, the fire re- meadow made using glyphosate a practi- sistant roots re-grow. —Rita Pelczar, Contributing Editor cal choice for clearing the soil, horticul- turist and author Stephanie Cohen opted for an organic method to prepare her nique for meadow preparation, involves into the soil. If undertaken for three to six roughly half-acre meadow site alongside spreading and anchoring clear plastic weeks in sunny weather during the hot her house on the outskirts of Philadelphia. sheeting over the area to be planted in summer months, the plants and seeds She eliminated existing growth by first re- order to trap the sun’s heat. In full sun, this under the plastic covering will be killed. moving the sod and then “putting news- raises soil temperatures to as much as 140 After the plastic sheeting is removed, the paper down in the fall to smother degrees Fahrenheit on the surface and as area can be seeded or plugged with young everything that might come up.” much as 100 degrees a foot or more down plants. (For more information about soil For those uncomfortable with using solarization, see “SMARTGARDEN:Har- chemicals to prepare the ground for nessing Solar Power” in The American meadow plants, the smother-method is Gardener, July/August, 2003.) simple and effective, particularly for small-scale plantings. LET IT BE To keep the newspaper in place, cover It is also possible simply to let a field grow. it with a layer of any organic product that The late, great Pennsylvania gardener will decompose—chopped leaves, grass Joanna Reed created her meadow success- clippings, etc. To be effective, however, this fully this way, and it has also worked beau- method takes months. tifully in the meadow in Fern Valley, home Cohen began her meadow preparation of the native plant collection at the U.S. in fall. Over the winter and early spring, National Arboretum in Washington, she says, “the layers of newspaper kept un- D.C. Reed augmented her meadow by wanted plants from germinating. And we Spreading layers of newspapers over bare plugging in desirable forbs. She also mon- didn’t plant until the beginning of May.” soil to smother weeds is one effective tech- itored the meadow closely, cutting out TOP: CAROLE OTTESEN. BOTTOM: OTTESEN / AHS ARCHIVES KAREN BUSSOLINI Solarization, another organic tech- nique for meadow site preparation. plants she didn’t want. May / June 2006 33 Meadow pp.31-35 4/26/06 1:31 PM Page 34 HOW TO MAKE A MEADOW The André Bluemel Meadow at River Farm, which will eventually encompass five acres, was initiated in 2003. Although the scale of this meadow is larger than most people would plan for a home garden, the steps involved in its establishment are the same. Step 1: ELIMINATE WEEDS Weeds can be eradicated by a variety of methods, including repeated tilling, smothering with newspaper, solariza- tion, and herbicides (see page 33). The method you choose depends on factors such as the size of the planned mead- ow and your energy level or access to “helpers”. Because of the scope of the AHS meadow project, AHS Horticultur- ist Peggy Bowers used several applica- tions of glyphosate herbicide to kill the existing vegetation. Step 2: SOW SEEDS AND/OR PLANT PLUGS Once the meadow site is cleared of weeds, it’s time to sow seeds or plant the meadow with the mixture of grass- es and forbs you have chosen. Mid- spring or early fall are the best times to plant. If you are sowing seeds, use a The first quarter of River Farm’s meadow project was initiated in 2003. By August 2005, rake to loosen the top layer of soil and (above) a variety of forbs and grasses had taken root and spread. scatter your seeds. Cover the area with a fine layer of weed-free straw. For the first phase of the River Farm Bluemel of Kurt Bluemel Nursery, Inc., If you are putting in plants, plugs are meadow, Bowers seeded in 100 in Baldwin, Maryland. the most economical choice. Plant in- pounds of little bluestem (Schizachyri- dividual herbaceous perennials and um scoparium). With the help of many Step 3. WATER AND WEED grasses in broad swaths for best effect, volunteers and AHS staff members, she After seeding or planting a meadow, it setting plants about a foot apart so they also planted over 35,000 plugs—with a must be watered immediately. Regular have a little room to spread but will ratio of three grasses to one forb—do- irrigation is needed for the first growing overlap to crowd out weeds. nated by former AHS Board Chair Kurt season to help plants get established. Initial maintenance of a meadow is intensive.