Seasons of Schizachyrium

Summer loveliness

Schizachyrium scoparium or little bluestem is my favorite grass. This tough prairie native thrives in full sun and puts up with part shade. I have fallen head over heels for its steely blue foliage, spectacular fall color, and elegant winter silhouette. 

I've planted a bunch in the rain garden in different zones. What has been interesting is where it chooses to seed itself. Note, this is not an aggressive self-seeding grass, but when given ideal conditions, it seems to wander around a little bit. The rain garden is allowed to be a free-for-all of self-seeding and colonization. The little bluestem has been at the core of my (continually) evolving sense of garden design and maintenance. Perhaps it was two years immersed in ecological restoration, but at this point my focus has shifted. I'm going to plan and plant the garden areas and then, other than weed, see what they do. I'm not keeping plants to rigid forms or the inflexible order of rows or patterns. I want to see what, when allowed to do their thing, plants communities form or dissolve. Call it survival of the fittest. Darwinian garden design?

With it's friends Amsonia illustris in the fall.

I have straight species little bluestem plus the cultivars 'Carousel' and 'Standing Ovation' planted in the rain garden. They are hanging out in the shadier section and sort of just sitting there. I have two self-seeding plants. One is in the mid-tier of the garden that will on occasion flood if we get several inches of rain. The other is on the upper tier in the most sun. That one is something very special. It is right at the edge along the path. It is topping out around three feet and staying in a nice tidy clump. In summer it is a glorious lace curtain powdery blue-green softness and really shimmers in the sun. The fall color is typical of  Schizachyrium - a mauve, carmine, sand, purple, sienna, maroon kaleidoscope of autumn. What has impressed me this year, though, is it is still standing in winter. Now an attractive sandy blond, it keeps popping back up, even after a heavy wet snow. So much to love with this grass! 

Hanging out in winter

If you get a chance, I urge you to try a little bluestem in your gardens. Not only is it gorgeous in every season, it also feeds a host of skipper butterflies and some songbirds. Beauty and beneficial!

Summer Means Sunny Flowers

Rudbeckia hirta in the late June raingarden.

My raingarden has been overtaken by Rudbeckia. I have a hard time objecting. How can you not love a billow of black-eyed susans spilling willy nilly and covered in bees? The first to bloom is Rudbeckia hirta in June, but now the Rudbeckia tomentosa and R. fulgida are coming into the fore. I have armloads of sunny flowers for cutting.

Rudbeckia tomentosa is just opening now.  

Rudbeckias are Midwestern favorites for their long bloom season and easy personalities. They love the sun and aren't terribly picky about soil, but perhaps not too wet. I am charmed by their chocolate chip centers that look almost edible. I like cutting them for my desk when the flowers are newly opened. The tiny disk flowers open in sequence like a miniature golden tiara. Lots of pollen, but fascinating to watch the succession. Eventually, they will become seeds and the birds with snarf them down along with the coneflowers. In the meantime, I'm soaking in the warmth from about a hundred little miniature suns.

Pretties from the Prairie

Pictured clockwise from top: Ratibida pinnata, Monarda fistulosa, Helianthus helianthoides, Silphium terebinthinaceum, and Echinacea purpurea

As you may have noticed, activity on this blog has been spotty at best. Why? I've been working hard on trying to wrap up my first novel. I'm in the last stages, so it claims quite a bit of attention.

However, my regular job still involves lots and lots of prairies. I'm lucky to have one right outside my office window. I've just come back from a four day national conference on prairies and all that dwells within them where I got to meet some amazing people and reconnect with colleagues.

Because I have a big beautiful prairie to play in, I can indulge in my fascination with flowers. This is my desk bouquet. I keep a couple of vases in the office because life is better with blossoms up close and personal. The nursery staff likes to bring me ones that have broken off or been cut back. Some species do well in a vase and some go downhill almost instantly.

The coneflower in the raingarden has burst into bloom as well, so I have lots of composite flowers decorating home and office. I don't deadhead the purple coneflowers as I do the daisies because the finches will snack on the seeds come fall.

I encourage you to pick a posy to brighten your inside space! Sometimes it's really important to stop and smell the roses. To pause. To notice. To listen and pay attention and let the seconds tick slowly by while you count the petals.