Our Native Grass Meadow After One Year

We planted native grasses in the floodplain below our house last year, and here are some pictures of how it looks now. I have to admit that I’m a bit fuzzy as to what are actually native grasses and what are the annual weeds that have come up and are sheltering the grasses as they grow (Austin shows me, but I promptly forget).  The native grasses have such deep root systems that they spend most of their energy in the first couple years sending down their roots, before they really get big and bushy above ground.  This is frustrating for a lot of landowners after planting a meadow: expecting it to be flourishing too soon.  Almost every meadow looks iffy the first couple of years.

Austin mixed in some native wildflowers when he was planting our meadow, so we have some coreopsis, blanket flower and several others down there now, too!

If you want to find out more about what native grasses are and why they are beneficial, check out my post from last year, or the Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage’s (this is where Austin works) website: cheswildlife.org