Meadow Meanderings

We planted the meadow seeds and plugs this morning while it was cool and windy. I took some photos later this afternoon while it was less windy.

The whole hillside was mowed in late August by the landscaper and we mow along the fence once a month during the growing season.  This is looking south where there is a drop off before the Japanese Maple and then the meadow opens on a hillside with more soil.

This is the meadow looking north toward the Japanese Maple and the cliffs beyond the fence.

Here the mugwort has been controlled by pulling according to the condo owners.  Next door neighbors/gardeners to the north use Round-up and a week whacker to control mugwort.

Here beyond our fence, we have planted six laurels and weed whack and mulch around them. We haven't done anything with the mugwort specifically, but we have mowed this area once a month for four years.  We will need to watch the mugwort and be more aggressive with cutting it at the crown with a knife (recommended by Kathy Connolly) if need be.

I'll be glad to have some more grasses from the plugs and seeds.  We need more structure in the meadow--and I love their seed heads this time of year.  I scattered the grass seed a little earlier than the recommended November 15th so I hope it remains dormant--and uneaten by birds and chipmunks or voles.  The Wavy Hair Grass is a bunching sod grass that tolerates almost sterile soil.  It doesn't form sod and reseeds itself in natural stands. The link takes you to the GoBotany web site sponsored by the New England Wildlife Society for some information and photos.

Another area we will need to watch--and probably attack in some way--is the crown vetch happily growing at the beginning of the ledge top just south of our laurels. Last year it was a stand of clover. Next year will mugwort take it over? Which dreaded weed is worse?

Enough of that! I thought meadows were supposed to be easy! I walked around the house to the front bed where the sun was shining and the mums and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' dazzled my eye in the landscaped and mulched beds.  

Will I be able to have the successful meadow steward's attitude of moving from control of nature to negotiating with nature?  I might just leave it to the famous gardener who made this statement, Piet Oudolf, designer of the Highline Trail in NYC.  Next book to get at the library is Planting: A New Perspective by Kingsbury and Oudolf.