My local park's native section looked dead for months then exploded

The city planted a bunch of prairie grasses and wildflowers in a corner of Miller Park last fall, and honestly, it looked like a brown, weedy mess all winter and spring. I was sure it was a failed project. Then, after about eight weeks of consistent rain in May, the whole area just popped with color. Coneflowers, black-eyed susans, and little bluestem grass are everywhere now. It made me rethink pushing for instant results in my own garden. Has anyone else had a native planting take way longer to establish than expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

hall.nina9d agoMost Upvoted

Why rush a good thing?

quinnr4019d ago

Was it the city that planted it, or a volunteer group? I ask because our neighborhood tried a rain garden project a few years back and it was a total disaster for the first two seasons. The contractor used the wrong soil mix and everything just sat there looking sad. It took a bunch of us complaining and then redoing some of the work ourselves before it finally took off. Sometimes these public projects just need a second look and a little extra help from people who actually care.

jessica_ross3819d ago

Used to think the city should just handle these things and leave us out of it. Then I watched the new bioswale on my block turn into a muddy pit for months after every rain. The plants were drowning. A few of us got fed up and asked the parks guy what was up. Turns out the drain pipe was clogged with construction junk from the start. We cleared it out one Saturday and now the thing actually works. Changed my whole view on needing that local checkup.