A Grower Perspective

The sunny days of pre-spring are upon us and our thoughts not only wander but race to the garden in a flurry to get out and do something.  At least my thoughts do and I remind myself to go slow as I might be a little stiff from the winter hibernation. Do you want to start something new this year?  Last year maybe you added blueberries and an apple tree or two and a raised bed for salad greens and you are ready to move on to something else.  What about taking out some lawn and making a meadow?  A meadow “like a lawn it is a calming place for the eye to rest, yet with the richness and complexity of a border.  Unlike lawns, meadows are better for the environment, a safe habitat for beneficial insects and pollinators, a place where native ecology can thrive…meadows require less maintenance and consume significantly less resources than a lawn or border.”  (from the preface to The American Meadow Garden by John Greenlee).  This concept was brought to our attention by local landscape architect John Pellitier.  John Greenlee came to Eugene recently to talk about planting meadows and this fired John P. up and he called us to talk about it and see what plants we had available.  Yesterday he stopped by to pick up some Juncus effuses ‘Gold Strike’ and he noticed the beautiful meadow book on our counter.  (Yes we listen to our customers and do our best to respond).  We have quite a few grasses and perennials that do well in meadow gardens and we have natural meadows full of camas and native grasses surrounding the nursery.  If this excites you and you want to add some meadow to your landscape come out and we’ll help you get started or call John Pellitier and he’ll get you going.