Untitled Document

A Native Garden on

Milbranch Place

Prairie Nursery is proud to present a photo essay illustrating seeding a small prairie in suburban Richmond, Virginia. Many thanks to Michael Babcock for sharing photos and descriptions of his experience using a custom Prairie Nursery seed mix for medium/clay soil. He added individual species of wildflower seed at planting, and installed 33 plants in the spring of the third year. (Species list is below photos.)

It is important to note that he discussed the project with his neighbors before starting.

After eliminating existing vegetation by applying a broad spectrum, non-persistent glyphosate-based herbicide, and repeatedly tilling the site, Mr. Babcock did a fall seeding. He watered generously during the initial growing seasons, because of the local area's dry climate. Due to the clean, weed-free condition of his particular site, he didn't follow our general first year recommendation of keeping it mowed to six inches.

To see larger photos, click on the small image of each stage in the process.

September 21,2003

Pre-planting preparation After removing existing vegetation, applied herbicide to sterilize the soil and tilled repeatedly for 3 months.

October 9, 2003

Post-seed planting Preparation included installing the very important metal border, adding lime to raise soil ph, tilling, planting seed mix, rolling with sod roller, covering with peat moss and rolling again.

April 19,2004

Trimmed to the ground (and the neighbors thought the rye looked so good!)

June 7, 2004

Mystery meadow plants make an appearance.

July 6, 2004

Black Eyed Susans beginning to bloom.

September 1, 2004

First year blooms: Black Eyed Susans, Yellow Coneflower, Ox Eye Sunflower, New England Asters and Lavender Hyssops.

November 20, 2004

We leave the dried stems because butterfly eggs and chrysalises over-winter on foliage, and song birds eat the seeds.

March 31, 2005

It looks neater after someone cleaned out last year's leaves.

April 18, 2005

About two weeks after a trim. Look closely and you'll see some Golden Alexanders blooming.

May 26, 2005

First Black Eyed Susans appearing.

June 19, 2005

Immature Joe Pye Weed blossoms in the foreground. Various blooms are popping up in the prairie.

July 14, 2005

We have coneflowers, sunflowers, asters, Wild Quinine and Lavender Hyssop!

Benefits of a meadow

Free flowers for the neighbors!

August 16, 2005

Brown Eyed Susans at peak, Indiangrass appearing and Little Bluestem already went to seed in July.

October 10, 2005

Beginning of the second winter season.

March 13, 2006

After 2 1/2 hours removing old growth, the meadow is ready to grow for its third year.

May 25, 2006 New perspective: Front view.

Flags indicate 33 live plants added for additional Monarch Butterfly food plants.

May 25, 2006

White False Indigo blooms for the first time.

June 26, 2006

Milbranch Meadow is certified by the National Wildlife Federation (www.nwf.org) as a "Wildlife Habitat," and as a "Monarch Waystation" by www.monarchwatch.org/.

July 13, 2006

Construction project obscured the meadow, so this is the last photo from 2006. Look for an addition over the garage (to the right) in 2007!

March 1, 2007

"Please trim the meadow," Mr. Babcock imagines his neighbors thinking.

March 11, 2007

All nice and tidy, ready for the fourth year!

May 14, 2007

A well-established prairie seeding.

Monarch Caterpillar

Room and board.

Female Tiger

Nectaring on New England Aster.

Goldfinch

Holding on for a meal of Yellow Coneflower seeds.

Variegated Frittilary

Nectaring on Purple Coneflower.

Caterpillar

Feeding on Golden Alexanders.

Species in Milbranch Meadow
Wildflowers:
Agastache scrophulariaefolia	Lavender Hyssop
Allium cernuum	Nodding Pink Onion
Asclepias tuberosa var. clay	Butterflyweed for clay
Asclepias sullivantii	Sullivant's Milkweed
Aster laevis	Smooth Aster
Aster novae angliae	New England Aster
Baptisia australis	Blue False Indigo
Baptisia lactea	White False Indigo
Cassia hebecarpa	Wild Senna
Coreopsis lanceolata	Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Dalea purpurea	Purple Prairie Clover
Echinacea pallida	Pale Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea	Purple Coneflower
Eryngium yuccifolium	Rattlesnake Master
Eupatorium maculatum	Joe Pye Weed
Heliopsis helianthoides	Ox Eye Sunflower
Liatris ligulistylis	Meadow Blazingstar
Liatris pycnostachya	Prairie Blazingstar
Parthenium integrifolium	Wild Quinine
Penstemon digitalis	Smooth Penstemon
Ratibida pinnata	Yellow Coneflower
Rudbeckia hirta	Black Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia subtomentosa	Sweet Black Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba	Brown Eyed Susan
Solidago rigida	Stiff Goldenrod
Verbena hastata	Blue Vervain
Vernonia fasciculata	Ironweed
Zizia aurea	Golden Alexanders
Grasses:
Bouteloua curtipendula	Sideoats Grama
Elymus Canadensis	Canada Wild Rye Nurse Crop
Schizachyrium scoparium	Little Bluestem
Sorghastrum nutans	Indiangrass

As we receive customer photos, we will post some of the best on the website for others to see, so send us your favorite pictures! cs@prairienursery.com