New Prairie in Bloom

Clarkia blooming today...

In the southern part of the prairie, plants that I have planted using the "divot" method are starting to come up.  Clarkia is such a spectacular little annual flower, and while this year has not been great for a lot of flowers here--larkspur, for example was oddly absent--clarkia seems to be coming on for a fine show.  I don't understand the cycles, but several plants go in these waves, and then come back.  Scarlet gilia has done it. 

Lately my work has been mowing.  Large areas which have native grass and a fair number of perennials (which of course can be mowed) also have a lot of cheatgrass, the annual-grass scourge of Western ranchers.  I mowed earlier, and this seemed to take out about half of the cheatgrass and properly encourage other species, but I've had to go back out and get the second generation.  Apparently some researcher at WSU has come up with a fungus that attacks cheatgrass, and I look forward to it.  In the meantime, mowing is this option I've got, and it is pretty effective, if you keep going after it. 

Gaillardia is making a comeback.  Many of the divots I planted with local seed from Thorn Creek are in their second year and producing blooms.  I had many clumps from a population down the river, but one by one they have been consumed by voles/pocket gophers, so they must be tasty.  Then I was trying the rake planting method that simply does not work with Gaillardia, and I have nearly lost my original population.  I will be scouring the areas that they were thriving in years past for any sprouts to nurture this year...

You can see in the background, though, that I had to surgically mow through here for the evil cheatgrass... sigh...