Rewilding My Lot

The native plant meadow is my most visible project, right in the middle of the front lawn. Therefore, I want to keep it relatively tidy (inasmuch as a wild nature project can be), and one recent morning’s gardening session was devoted to cleanup in the meadow.

By now, I am confident that a lot of Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) and Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella) seeds are already on the ground, and so I don’t feel a need to leave the remaining plants there until every last seed has dropped. If a plant had completely finished blooming, then I cut it down, leaving the roots in the ground. That generated a nice pile of stems that can be shredded once they have dried out, and returned to the area as mulch.

What I am left with are a few lingering Bluebonnet and Firewheel plants that still have blooms. I am amazed that there are still Bluebonnets in June!

There are also some other plants in the meadow that are either blooming or yet to bloom. A few of those are things that I planted, e.g. Lemon Beebalm (Monarda citriodora), and there are others that are volunteer, e.g., Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis). Some of the volunteers I won’t be able to identify until they show me their flowers, and then I will know if they stay or go.

The meadow looks quite different now that most of the predominant early flowers have gone. (Yesterday’s post has photos of before the cleanup.)

My original plan was that after the first waves of Bluebonnet and Firewheel blooms, there would be a third wave of Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata). Ironically, the seeds I sowed in the meadow did not grow in this first year, but that plant is volunteering just a few feet away in the bed immediately in front of the house. As those plants produce seeds, I am scattering them in the meadow. Maybe next year they’ll be more obedient!