Your standard blanket of green grass has gotten a bad rap over the years, especially as we’ve started to understand the connection between the disappearance of pollinators and the expansion of lawns. There’s been a big movement to get rid of turf grass altogether and replace it with the blooms pollinators need, including prairies. But […]
Lawns are not evil: 8 tips for making your lawn an ally Read More »
A couple days ago a monarch butterfly fluttered through my yard. “You’re too early!” I told it. “Come back in a couple days when my milkweeds are planted!” Well, today’s the big day! I have my plants, and I’m ready to get them in the ground! I talked a couple weeks ago about prepping the
My microprairie, milkweed edition Read More »
We’ve been covering a lot about getting your garden ready for those native plants you’ve been picking out. But what if you don’t have a garden, or even a yard to put a garden in? Well, there are always containers. Containers are the solution for you if for one reason or another you can’t have
Here’s the scoop: Planting natives in containers for those who can’t plant in the ground Read More »
If you’re like me, half the fun of starting a new hobby or activity or anything is the prospect of getting to go shopping. You have your list of plants in hand, you have your area for your garden all picked out, whether it’s a few square feet of yard or a couple containers—you might
Time to shop! Choosing your prairie plants. Read More »
Before I can plant either of my new gardens, I need to prep each site. “Site prep” may sound intimidating, but it definitely doesn’t have to be. It just comes in varying degrees of difficulty, and how difficult it is will depend on how you answer these questions: How much time do you have? How
Prepping your microprairie site Read More »
I know this blog is called mymicroprairie.com, but it can be about other kinds of gardens, too. With no big trees, my front yard gets tons of hot, direct sunlight, so it’s perfect for a microprairie. My back yard, though, is mostly shady, especially in the summer, when the trees are all leafed out. My
Spring project #2: Backyard woodsy garden Read More »
Give butterflies a chance I started out pretty small last year, because I wasn’t sure how much work my new microprairie would take, and I didn’t want it to turn out so big that I got overwhelmed and lost interest. Well, that didn’t happen. In fact it went so well, I am planning an expansion.
Spring project #1: Milkweed buffet for butterflies Read More »
Basic tools you need to get started and where to get them. Okay, you have your site established and your plants picked out. Next step? Let’s go shopping! You betcha, but not for plants, at least not quite yet. For one thing, it’s pretty early. Unless you’re in the South, the first week of April
Essential tools of the trade Read More »
It’s time to get some plants! But how do you choose? Last week I talked about using nursery web sites to narrow down the pool of plants to ones that are suited to your yard’s conditions. You can also just do a lot of web browsing. Search for “native plants for [insert your region or
Sourcing native plants for your microprairie Read More »
Last week I talked about getting to know your yard in terms of sunlight and shade, dry and wet areas, so you can take those conditions into account when you pick your plants for your new microprairie. This week, let’s talk about what’s going on under the ground. A soil test can tell you a
What’s a soil test and why do I need one? Read More »
