100s of miles of lush green tall grass prairie as far as you could see, beautiful shades of grasses and rare flowers covering the landscape with a spotty tree here or there is what you used to be able to see in Iowa before it was plowed for farmland. Before becoming populated Iowa was mostly tall grass prairie which was mostly filled with Indian, big blue stem and switch grass as well as flowering perennials such as beebalm, Black eyed susan and Butterfly weed. Iowa was certainly much more wild place then we see it today as animals roamed this prairie and huge roaring fires were a common scene to see burning across the land in spring and fall.
Kish Ke Kosh Prairie near Monroe, IA
All of Iowa was cover by this type of land mass, expansive prairies like the one above. Numerous history books talk about how beautiful and expansive it once was. The only part of Iowa which was not prairie was steep river valleys and the far northeastern bluff land part of the state which was and still is forested. Today 1% of less of that original prairie remains, but now there are many prairie restoration projects going up across the state and region as well as preservation projects of current prairies. In the garden there has been a huge new demand for prairie grasses and flowers which are now being added into gardens and landscapes. To the left is a photo of Beebalm a flower originally from prairies that is extensively used in landscaping today. It seems prairies and natives grasses/flowers are coming back in the form of being added to our modern landscaping!
Grasses in Downtown Des Moines landscaping
The use of grasses in the garden has really seen an increase over the last few years. In many larger cities across Iowa, Ames, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown are just a few places you can see plantings and flower beds of grasses like this one above in Downtown Des Moines. They are especially common in mall plantings and new suburban development plantings. People visiting the Des Moines Botanical garden can see Prairire Dropseed grass being planted in their new landscaping currently being planted. Most of these grasses seen around the area that produce flower heads extra early is Karl Forester grass ( non native ) is the most popular grass still used because of that early flowering, however switch grass, big blue stem and little blue steam grass are seeing an increase of usage in landscaping.
So how can grasses be used in the landscape? Grasses provide permanent structure to a garden much in the way of an evergreen would. Structure means something in the garden that can be seen or be showy in most seasons. Grasses are showy in late spring, summer, fall and winter. Grasses are great as an accent or as the main show in a flower bed. They can also be used easily in a island flower bed as well being located in the middle of the bed. Grasses provide foliage in stages before bloom and then very appealing flower head which blow and wave in a slight breeze. In fall the colors change brilliant shades of bronze to fire red, which remain that color through winter snowfalls!
Switch grass used as an accent.
In my earlier gardening years I would not use grasses in my landscaping, but after college and moving to the former prairie state I developed a love for grasses because they just add so much interest to the garden from the foliage to the neat flower heads the produce. For my gardens I choose switch grass because its a native and I love the way the airy flowers look in late summer. So use grasses as an accent or as the main show in your flower bed.You an use them to bring balance and depth and even in a border bed. Locate taller grasses in the middle of a bed, and smaller grasses in smaller gardens or as border plants in larger flower gardens. Below is a list of heights and season of blooms for just a few native prairie grasses you can find at area garden centers.
Small Height:
Little blue steam- Late summer
Prairie Dropseed- Early summer
Tall Height:
Big blue stem- Late summer
Indian grass- Late summer
Switch Grass- Late summer
To end this post on Iowa Prairies, Here is a photo of a beautiful Lead Plant I saw blooming in Kish Ke Kosh prairie north of Monroe. This is the first time I saw one of these and they are quite spectacular!
Interested in learning more about prairie projects? Visit these two sites.
Trees Forever
Iowa Prairie Network
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