Rewilding My Lot

The latest of the grasses in my mid-height prairie grass area to bloom is Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans). This grass has blue-green leaves and golden brown seed heads.

The other grass companions in this area are Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), and Curly Mesquite (Hilaria belangeri). The Curly Mesquite has crept in from the neighboring Thunder Turf area, and over time I plan to remove it once it’s not needed to fill in open spaces.

You can perhaps see why Sideoats Grama gets that name.

Little Bluestem has been blooming for weeks, and it doesn’t have many seeds left.

The two Gulf Muhly plants in this prairie grass area have nice mounds of leaves, but no seed heads.

In contrast, the third Gulf Muhly that I have in front of the house (the one landscaping plant that the builder chose well!) has begun to produce its distinctive purple feathery seed heads.

And here is an example of a little clump of Curly Mesquite (center of the photo below) that has migrated in from the Thunder Turf area (bottom of the photo).

The prairie grasses will be left in place over the winter. Their seeds can be food for birds, and their clumps of leaves can be shelter.