Greenacres: Landscaping with Native Plants
Landscaping with native wildflowers and grasses improves the environment. Natural landscaping brings a taste of wilderness to urban, suburban, and corporate settings by attracting a variety of birds, butterflies and other animals. Once established, native plants do not need fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides or watering, thus benefiting the environment and reducing maintenance costs. Gardeners and admirers enjoy the variety of colors, shapes, and seasonal beauty of these plants.
http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/index.html
Landscaping with native wildflowers and grasses improves the environment. Natural landscaping brings a taste of wilderness to urban, suburban, and corporate settings by attracting a variety of birds, butterflies and other animals. Once established, native plants do not need fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides or watering, thus benefiting the environment and reducing maintenance costs. Gardeners and admirers enjoy the variety of colors, shapes, and seasonal beauty of these plants.
http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/index.html
The use of native prairie plants in landscape design has grown in popularity as more people have become interested in prairie reconstruction and restoration. In this modern age, many people are unaccustomed to any type of a landscape planting that differs from the traditional bluegrass lawn or the flower beds with their neat, orderly rows of begonias, geraniums, petunias, or dahlias. Learning about prairie plants is the first step in incorporating them into landscape designs. This link provides extensive acess to the history of and restoring prairies:
http://dnr.state.il.us/conservation/naturalheritage/prairie/table.htm
http://dnr.state.il.us/conservation/naturalheritage/prairie/table.htm
Developing a Residential Prairie
A residential prairie is a site 1/4 acre or larger which has been planted with native grasses, sedges, and wildflowers. It reflects the original grassland vegetation dominant in the Midwest prior to European settlement. It is a landscape which encourages a diversity of plant and animal species. Following establishment, it becomes a low-maintenance landscape.
http://www.sustland.umn.edu/implement/developing_prairie.htm
A residential prairie is a site 1/4 acre or larger which has been planted with native grasses, sedges, and wildflowers. It reflects the original grassland vegetation dominant in the Midwest prior to European settlement. It is a landscape which encourages a diversity of plant and animal species. Following establishment, it becomes a low-maintenance landscape.
http://www.sustland.umn.edu/implement/developing_prairie.htm