Meadow Garden
by
Lorraine
+2
Has anyone attempted to plant or replicate a meadow garden? I live in western CO - dry and hot, I also have 4 acres, some of which is in pasture grass, soil is clay with some irrigation water and no trees. Would love to turn some of this acreage into the meadow that it once was and was wondering if anyone else has attempted this. Thanks
5 answers
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Good for you, Lorraine. I do know a couple of people who have established meadows and their go-to guy was Neil Diboll of Prairie Nursery. He has a book out titled "The Gardeners Guide to Prairie Plants." There are some general pointers on the Prairie Nursery web site: http://www.prairienursery.com/store/prairie-establishment-guide-ezp-15.html#.Ue5tW-BDxK4
Douglas Hunt
on Jul 23, 2013
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With out irrigation you will be limited to the native "scrub" that grows locally. I have seen packs of colorado native wildflower seeds in our local hardware store. A good handful of my neighbors have planted these and have "reproduced" some of the wild meadows and flowers we see here. One big difference for us here is we are at 8500 feet and the weather is much cooler and a bit more moist than your locale.
KMS Woodworks
on Jul 23, 2013
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@Douglas Hunt Thank you so much for the link to the Prairie Nursery! Before I looked at this website I was a bit intimidated about the expense of trying this type of gardening on the acreage that we have - however, they sell seeds! Woo Hoot - now I am more excited than before! I did purchase a book - The American Meadow Garden by John Greenlee and have signed up for emails from the Prairie Nursery. We have one other bone to contend with here - a resident herd of 30-35 deer and 100 or so elk in the winter - deer browse but elk pull plants up by the roots and then if they don't like the taste just drop them! So we must also find deer resistant natives. Will post photo of where I am planning on starting this - sometime this week. Thank you again
Lorraine
on Jul 23, 2013
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@KMS Woodworks I have been looking at the wildflowers seeds as well - but all things outside of the confines of the fenced garden MUST be deer resistant! ARG. We do have some irrigation water and we have domestic water that we can use to get things going - double ARG! I will break this down into small plots and try really hard not to take on the whole place. We have pasture grass growing in some of the areas and the occasional wildflower or bunch grass. I have gardened at your elevation in Grand Lake - we had moose and elk to contend with but it is cooler and there is a bit more moisture than over this way and the wind didn't blow as it does here. Thanks so much for your input
Lorraine
on Jul 23, 2013
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Lorraine, sounds like you will be in for an adventure, but what a feeling of accomplishment it will be to establish a real meadow. We look forward to seeing your photos.
Douglas Hunt
on Jul 23, 2013
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