A Prairie Garden in the City

 

 

At the corner of High Street and Commerce Street, the two main commercial retail streets in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, I designed and planted a prairie garden for a client who operates an independent bookstore from the stone building. In October, the flowers are mostly gone, leaving pretty seed pods and glorious glowing yellow and russet foliage.
The repeating structural lines of prairie dropseed form yellow edges while the contrasting rust of the little bluestem forms a taller backdrop.  Yellow river birch leaves repeat the color, with deep brown seedheads of various serving as accents.  We leave the seeds on for the birds that some in fall and winter to feed on them.  Stone benches echo the stone walls around the gardens, as well as the stone walls of the historic buildings, and provide resting places for the visitors to the pretty little town.

 

Summer Mix

Mondarda (also called beebalm) and yellow coneflower mix in mid August

Landscape Design Services

PlannedScapes Native Landscape Design

Karma Grotelueschen
Warrenville IL and Mineral Point WI
630-728-9998
plannedscapes @ aol.com (remove the spaces)

Full residential and commercial landscape design services using plants of the prairie and woodland to create functional and beautiful outdoor living spaces.
Complete landscape plans, quick sketches that the homeowner details with plant lists, or consultation.
Plans for entire properties that coordinate function and aesthetics to single area plans.

Serving the western suburbs of the Chicago area and the Madison, WI and Mineral Point, WI areas.

Lead Plant

Lead Plant

Amorpha canadense

2' to 3' tall
Fine blue foliage

Purple blue flower stalks
Interesting seed pods into winter

Some winters, stems overwinter so the new growth may be high on the stem.  If this is not desired, cut the stalks back to a few inches from the ground in winter.

Spiderwort

 Spiderwort

Tradescantia ohiensis

1 to 1.5' tall

early blue flowers that open in the morning and dissolve into blue drops later in the day

so plant where they will be seen in the morning

will stay open longer on cool days

Prairie Coreopsis

Prairie coreopsis

Coreopsis palmata

1 to 2' tall, fine delicate foliage makes it a good plant to interweave among other short forbs and grasses

Lake Redstone House Landscaping, Early Summer, Year Three

Landscaping for Lake House - Update

Lake Redstone, La Valle, WI

The front yard is entirely prairie plants with Happy Returns daylily edging along driveway

In early July 2012 after many weeks with no rain, the plants are slightly smaller than usual for this time of year, but thriving.  

This landscape was planted starting in fall of 2009. The area was divided into curving triangular shapes that were outlined with 3" plugs of plants that had strong structural presence, such as prairie dock and stiff goldenrod.  The shapes between the outlines were left bare of plants and mulched at first.  This allowed installation of the garden in economical phases.  

The internal areas of the shapes were then planted in 2010 thru 2012.

Signs from Wild Ones and National Wildlife Federation identify this as a natural landscape.

NATIVE PLANTS FOR BEGINNERS
Modified by Karma Grotelueschen, PlannedScapes Native Landscape Design
From list by The Greater DuPage Chapter of Wild Ones www.for-wild.org/chapters/dupage
Perennials for Sun (some can take part shade too)
Short—to 18”
Allium cernuum, nodding wild onion
Coreopsis palmata, prairie coreopsis *
Dalea (Petalostemum) purpurea, purple prairie clover
Dodecatheon meadia, shooting star
Tradescantia ohiense, Ohio spiderwort
Zizia aurea, golden Alexander
Medium—18” to 36”
Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly milkweed, prefers well drained soil, may not last in clay
Aster oblongifolia, aromatic aster
Echinacea pallida, pale purple coneflower
Liatris aspera, rough gayfeather
Liatris cylindrical, cylindrical gayfeather
Liatris pychnostachya, prairie blazing star
Parthenium integrifolium, wild quinine
Penstemon digitalis, foxglove beard tongue
Pycnanthemum virginianum, common mountain mint
Rudbeckia subtomentosa, sweet black-eyed Susan
Solidago ohiensis, Ohio goldenrod
Solidago riddellii, Riddell’s goldenrod
Tradescantia ohiensis, Ohio spiderwort
Tall—over 36”
Aster nova-angliae, New England aster
Baptisia leucantha, white wild indigo
Coreopsis tripteris, tall coreopsis
Echinacea purpurea, purple coneflower
Eryngium yuccifolium, rattlesnake master
Monarda fistulosa, beebalm, wild bergamot
Ratibida pinnata, yellow coneflower, gray-headed coneflower
Silphium laciniatum, compass plant
Silphium terebinthinaceum, prairie dock
Solidago rigida, stiff goldenrod

Grasses and Sedges for sun (some can take part shade too)
Short—to 18”
Carex pensylvanica, Penn sedge, common oak sedge
Carex vulpinoidea, brown fox sedge
Sporobolus heterolepis, prairie dropseed – best landscape edging grass
Medium—18” to 36”
Panicum virgatum, switch grass, can be aggressive so use sparingly
Schizachyrium scoparium, little bluestem, prefers well drained soil, may not last in clay
Tall—over 36”
Andropogon gerardii, big bluestem, can be aggressive so use sparingly
Sorghastrum nutans, Indian grass, can be aggressive so use sparingly

Perennials for Shade (some can take part sun too)
Aquilegia canadensis, wild columbine
Asarum canadense, wild ginger
Aster shorti, Short’s aster
Athyrium filix-femina var. michauxii, lady fern
Cimicifuga racemosa, Black cohosh
Geranium maculatum, wild geranium
Mertensia virginiana, Virginia bluebells
Podophyllum peltatum, Mayapple
Polemonium reptans, Jacob’s ladder
Polygonatum canaliculatum, Solomon’s seal
Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot
Smilacina racemosa, Solomon’s plume
Solidago flexicaulis, zig-zag goldenrod
Stylophorum diphyllum, celandine poppy

Grasses and Sedges for Shade (some can take part sun too)
Short—to 18”
Carex gracillima, purple-sheathed graceful sedge
Carex grayi, common bur sedge
Carex rosea, curly-styled wood sedge
Medium—18” to 36”
Chasmanthium latifolium, spike grass, Northern sea oats
Hystrix patula, bottle-brush grass
Shrubs for Dry Soils
Corylus americanus, American hazelhut
Lonicera prolifica, yellow honeysuckle
Rhus aromatica, aromatic sumac
Rhus aromatica “Gro-Low”, cultivar for use where low landscaping is needed
Viburnum acerifolium, maple-leaved viburnum

Shrubs for Medium Soils
Aronia melanocarpa, black chokeberry
Hamamelis virginiana, witch hazel
Hamamelis vernalis, spring witch hazel
Rosa setigera, Illinois rose
Rubus odoratus, purple-flowering raspberry
Sambucus canadensis, common elderberry
Viburnum dentatum, Arrowwood viburnum
Viburnum prunifolium, black haw viburnum

Shrubs for Moist Soils
Cephalanthus occidentalis, buttonbush
Cornus stolonifera (sericea), red-osier dogwood
Lindera benzoin, spice bush
Physocarpus opulifolius, ninebark

Small Trees for Colorful Accent
Amelanchier laevis, Allegheny shadblow
Amelanchier grandiflora, Serviceberry
Carpinus caroliniana, musclewood (moist)
Cercis canadensis, red bud
Cornus alternifolia, pagoda dogwood

Large Trees for Making Shade
Acer saccharum, sugar maple
Acer rubrum, red maple
Gymnocladus dioica, Kentucky coffee tree
Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip tree
Quercus macrocarpa, bur oak
Quercus muhlenbergii, chinquapin oak
Taxodium distichum, bald cypress (moist)
Tilia americana, American linden, basswood