On 06/05/2004 11:38 AM, Tom Randy said:
On Sat, 05 Jun 2004 14:29:49 +0000, Vox Humana wrote:



My employer, [deep pockets] put in a meadow, and it looked nice as long
as they burned it every 3 years. Now it looks like sh!t. It woulda
been better if they just left it mowed fescue and bluegrass and weeds.


That's exactly my point. The OP who now has weeds, berries, brush, etc, will
most likely have the same thing in a few years if he goes the wildflower
route. The same thing will happen with a well planned perennial bed. You
start with a nice mix of plants. If you don't manage the bed, you end up
with the entire thing choked with one or two aggressive plants. Then nasty
weeds like thistles will get established, and in my area, maple and locust
saplings will appear.



Absolutely true. If I don't stay on top of my flower beds forget about it.
Weeds,maple saplings go WILD.

I agree, The wildflower route is not the way to go.


I'm currently trying the meadow thing. I mow regularly just around
the house. The rest I let grow, and cut it once every fall. I've
put in some native perennial wildflowers just to see how they do.
But I haven't spent a lot on that - for the most part, I just left
what was already here go wild, and I'm always pleasantly surprised
by that new wildflowers turn up on their own. The once per year
fall cutting is a pain, but it seems to be enough to keep the
brambles, brush and trees from moving back in. And it does save me
from a lot of mowing in the summer. I'm not expecting it to ever
turn into a picture perfect wildflower meadow, but it's not a weedy
mess either, so I would recommend this route, as long as you have
realistic expectations about it.


--
Joe
http://www.joekaz.net/
http://www.cafeshops.com/joekaz