April 16
Lyre-leaved sage (Salvia
lyrata)
Coreopsis (Coreopsis
auriculata)
Lyre-leaved
Sage has an evergreen rosette of rough textured leaves,
usually quite flat upon the ground. The sturdy stem shoots
up quickly in early spring. We know it is in the mint
family because the stem is square. The blue flowers are
about eighteen inches high; they last a long time in the
garden, and even longer in a floral arrangement. But let
some go to seed because they readily reseed. A large area
of these blooms is a beautiful sight.
Coreopsis’ vivid yellow colors brighten the garden for
about six weeks, but it too is an excellent cut flower.
Plants spread by sending out stolons or runners which take
root and form new plants.
Since these plants, and the little yellow wood-sorrel
(Oxalis),
which is also in the painting, are perennials that enjoy
open places such as lawns and meadows, you may find them
spreading into your lawn. The key to having a native plant
landscape that your neighbors will consider civilized and
cared for is to clearly define the edge where plants stop
and lawn begins. Therefore, you should not let the natives
invade the lawn’s neat and tidy edge. Each year, however, I
find myself moving that edge, expanding the garden to
replace some of the lawn area.
If your lawn has good sunlight, it probably is very
pretty—as long as you are willing to feed it and then mow
it, and douse it with pre-emergents, herbicides, and
pesticides (which all cost money and may poison the
environment). Maybe you water the lawn and mow it again,
and later get out the rake or noisy leaf blower. Have you
considered a meadow?
A meadow takes care of itself except for the cutting of
occasional bouquets and mowing once, at the end of summer.
Even a three foot strip of garden along a sidewalk can be a
meadow. Let the plants crowd in amongst themselves.
Survival of the fittest! They will figure it out for you.
The smaller plants show up to bloom early in the year. A
month later you won’t even notice those plants because
slightly larger plants will be blooming above them. And, by
the end of summer, the asters and other tall plants have
reached above all the rest to show off their blooms. Then
you can mow it all down. The evergreen rosettes of the
Lyre-leaved Sage and other perennials will carry your
meadow through the winter.
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