The Rural Voice, 2001-02, Page 35Gardening
Establishing a meadow or prairie
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
It all comes down to dollars and
' cents. Naturalists across our country,
and indeed around the world, have
played upon our senses to inspire us to
help preserve and protect areas of
nature that are threatened by our own
existence. But being a Green Knight
requires commitment from politicians
and of course money to make things
happen; to pay for land taken out of
cultivation, to compensate land owners
for inconveniences, to cover taxes, to
educate the public on the reasons for
preserving parts of our habitat and the
list goes on. With such a hurdle it is a
wonder that any land is preserved to
continue to rejuvenate the air 'and water
around us and offer shelter for a myriad
of creatures.
One of the arguments helping
establish naturalized areas is, of course,
about saving money. Native plants are
quicker to revegetate an area and
increase the value of property.
Maintenance costs of residential and
commercial areas can be reduced with
native plants. They are hardier, and
need less fussing than a lush over -
fertilized lawn.
Many of us are well aware of the
problems with the introduction of
exotic species into our areas. We only
have to look at the issues surrounding
purple loosestrife in our wetlands to
know that seeds and plant material
from our backyards are making their
way into the natural systems and
creating somewhat of a mess. By
gradually converting street trees and
other ornamentals to native species we
can hopefully help slow this process.
Gardeners can play a major role in
helping preserve native plants by
simply introducing some into their
gardens and by encouraging their use in
community landscape projects. Thanks
to a growing group of far-sighted
individuals there is a lot of information
and help available today that did not
exist five years ago.
There are two wonderful resources
available.
The Environmental Branch of
Environment Canada has just published
Planting the Seed: A Guide to
Establishing Prairie and Meadow
Communities in Southern Ontario. A
well -researched document it offers
definitions, and a step-by-step guide to
growing a meadow or prairie.
Meadow and prairie communities
are open areas of grasses, wildflowers
and few trees. The familiar black-eyed
susan and goldfinches are common to
both. The major difference is in the
maintenance of these communities.
Prairies are rejuvenated by fire whereas
flooding and drought acts the same for
meadows.
There are specific plant and animal
species found in each one: Indian grass
and wild indigo duskywing butterflies
are found in prairies and common
evening primrose and'common
sootywing butterflies in meadows.
Planting the Seed gets you preparing
the site and organizing a maintenance
plan. Now you need a source for the
plant materials; you can't head out and
pillage natural areas. The Society for
Ecological Restoration — Ontario
Chapter has compiled an extensive list
of native plant material suppliers to
choose from. Proceeds from the sale of
this list helps the Society (SER)
maintain a web -based directory of
ecological restoration projects in
Ontario. They list other restoration
projects, share information, and help
volunteers find work experience with
different or specific ecological
restoration techniques.
To get you started call the Ontario
Tallgrass Prairie and Savanna
Association to receive your Planting
the Seed booklet. They can be reached
by phone: 519-873-4631, fax: 519-873-
4645, email: info@tallgrassontario.org
To order your Native Resource
Guide simply call the Ministry of
Natural Resources Information Centre
at 1-800-667-1940. Single copies are
available for about $5. Be prepared
with a credit card. Apparently CODs
are a thing of the past. If you want to
leam more about the Society for
Ecological Restoration — Ontario
Chapter you can check out their web
site at http.//www.trentu.ca/ser
or e-mail them at ser_ont@trentu.ca 0
Rhea- Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise two children at their
home near Auburn. She is a skilled
cook and gardener.
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FEBRUARY 2001 31