Photo by Amy Galloway
Every realm of human creative endeavor has its fashions and flights of fancy, and the gardening world is no exception. Perceptive observers can often trace a garden’s origins based on the plants it contains. In suburban landscapes, the presence of Nandina (Nandina domestica) and the dreaded sago palm (Cycas revoluta) typically date a garden to the nineteen-seventies and ‘eighties. Both are tough as nails and difficult to remove, so once they have a foothold, their stubborn claim can endure for generations. For me, the aggressive tropical perennial Cashmere Bouquet (Clerodendron bungei) always marks a garden or landscape as being rather—how shall I say it—“old school.” This tall, rather wild plant abounds in older neighborhoods with large lots, where an abundance of tall trees casts shade over the plant’s lilac flower heads. I adore it though, probably on account of the childhood memories it awakens in me.
In my opinion, the landscape world has been embracing some exciting new fashions of late. This decade has produced a notable shift away from tidier, more formal landscapes, and towards greater acceptance of native plants and naturalistic layouts. A popular trend that many gardeners have been inspired to embrace is that of the meadow. Whether it be acres of transformed, former pasture, or petite “pocket meadows” within subdivision backyards, meadow-making is one fad I can really get behind. Replacing the relative monocultures of suburban lawns and border beds with meadow offers great benefits—from enhancing biodiversity with a broader range of grass and flowering plant species, to creating habitat for more wildlife and pollinators, to improving stormwater management and lowering maintenance costs. Meadows, usually chock full of native grasses and perennials, make efficient storehouses of carbon, prevent erosion, hold water, and save time and money, all the while introducing meaningful biodiversity back into urban and suburban landscapes. Oh, and they’re beautiful. Hey, what’s not to like?
How to Make a Meadow
There are many ways to make a meadow, and as you can probably imagine, strong opinions and vigorous debates around how and when to prepare your meadow plot for seeding. Here, I’ll offer several suggestions based on my own experience—with a couple of caveats thrown in for good measure.
Jess’s Caveats
1: Some methods require significant ground preparation time—months in some cases. It’s a good idea to start planning any meadow-making project well in advance. This late summer season, when yard maintenance work finally slows down, can be a good time for planning a big project like converting your backyard lawn into a meadow.
2: In meadow-making circles there is much discussion regarding the ideal time to sow seed, the consensus opinions being fall or spring. I prefer to lay my meadow seed by late fall, mimicking when the natural world drops most of her seeds. Though not all seeds require cold temperatures to germinate, preferring the warmer conditions of spring, many species establish better when soil is wetter and cooler. Throwing out seed in the fall lets winter do most of the work, with a minimum of assistance from the gardener.
3: You won’t find any recommendations for using chemical herbicides or pesticides to prepare your meadow plot for seeding, since I avoid using glyphosate completely. To me, even when it’s sprayed in the name of encouraging native plants, the temporary benefits of glyphosate do not justify the cons. Given this, I would point out that the methods recommended will not produce perfect results in every situation.
Lazy Man’s Meadow
As the name implies, this is the simplest method. Essentially, it involves throwing down seed in a space with minimal initial ground preparation. Seed likes to touch soil to germinate, so at the least, I suggest weed-eating existing ground cover as low as possible before introducing new seed to it. This approach might not suit perfectionists or control freaks, though, since you’ll assuredly encounter more weeds and competition from existing plants than when using other methods. With the Lazy Man’s method you’re trading perfection for ease. I have been surprised how well this method, which essentially consists of embracing existing vegetation and adding seed atop the earth, can work. It can produce exquisite meadows; it can also produce “weedy” messes. But it’s a fun experiment, with little that can’t be corrected with a lawn mower, should you choose to abandon the effort.
Solarization
Solarizing is a ground preparation technique that uses plastic in alignment with the sun to “kill off” ground cover. Simply place plastic sheeting over your desired meadow plot, using cinder blocks or bricks at the edges to keep the plastic taut and secured. In my fantasy kingdom, I would only ever build meadows this way, since it tends to result in successful initial seeding with the least amount of undesirable “weeds.” The downside of solarization is that you will be looking at a large swathe of plastic where your lawn used to be, for up to two months. For the most effective kill-off, you want to solarize during the hottest months when the sun is at its most powerful. I have used both black and clear plastic, depending upon the space. Clear plastic is my go-to overall, as the sun pouring through the plastic produces amazingly high temperatures. I use black plastic in shadier spots, where the blackout effect is better at killing grass not already receiving enough sun. I avoid the use of trash bags and any such thin plastic, which breaks down too quickly in the sun, releasing masses of microplastics into your soil. Source a thicker, more durable plastic, such as old greenhouse plastic or used billboards. If you have a manageable-sized space, solarize!
Sheet Mulch
Sheet mulching involves applying a layer of cardboard or carpenter paper to the earth to kill weeds and other ground cover. Ninety-five percent of the gardens I build are established using sheet mulching. It’s incredibly fast and an excellent way to eradicate existing vegetation. Some sheet mulch then wait months to plant directly into the space. I sheet mulch, then add a layer of bulk soil directly on top of the cardboard, often on the same day, creating an instant and ready-prepped canvas for seeds or plants. This one can be difficult to render on a large scale, and depending on your chosen supplies, can get expensive. But boy, it brings epic moments of instant gratification. The cardboard is excellent at killing the vegetation beneath it, too.
The Three Till Method
I first learned this method from landscape architect Owen Wormser’s great little book Lawns into Meadows. It’s what I recommend when converting landscape to meadow at scale (i.e. anything larger than an acre). As the name suggests, the Three Till Method involves tilling the land three times at two-week intervals. After selecting the plot for your meadow you till the space, then wait two weeks for weed seeds to pop up (ideally, you want rain or watering during the rest times to encourage weed seeds to germinate. Then you till again, repeating the cycle a total of three times. The process usually brings up all weeds seeds resting in this soil, and kills them. Start the process six to eight weeks prior to applying your meadow seed mix. Early November is my go-to seeding time.
Seed Mixes & Resources
Now comes the fun part. Be sure to purchase a seed mix with a good cover crop/”nurse crop” addition—a fast-growing non-native annual such as clover. This cover crop plant will be quick to grow, without living as long as the native seed it's combined with. The cover crop serves to cover bare soil quickly during early establishment, before bowing out as slower growing native seed gets established, and takes over after at least one full seasonal cycle.
• LA Native Seed Company
An excellent local source of seed based out of St. Landry Parish, offering an expanding array of mixes and services.
• Native American Seed
seedsource.com/native-seed/seed-mixes/
This is my favorite seed company, based out of Texas. It's always best to source seed as close to home as possible, as seed will be better adapted to our local climate and pressures, but this company is close enough to offer excellent seed with lots of native species overlap. Lagniappe: they produce my most cherished snail mail— a biannual catalog that includes beautiful and provoking commentary and poetry concerning our natural world and ecology, remaining available year-round. I have had good success with their Coastal Prairie, Pocket Prairie, Bee Happy, Caddo and Wetland Fringe mixes.
