Planted in June of 1999, the Sharon Creek Tallgrass Prairie near Delaware, Ontario, has slowly established itself. Several prescribed burns helped the prairie along and destroyed invading weed species. Even the Common Mullein, which threatened to take over, is almost a memory, as brute strength, fire, and time took their toll on this most noticeable opportunist. Last year was a dry year, as we all remember, but the prairie didn't die, it simply didn't grow as high and lush.

When the prairie was established in 1999, a demonstration garden was planted by the students of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Delaware, and the 'friends of sharon creek'. Just a short walk inside the gates of the Sharon Creek Conservation Area, the demonstration garden is located at the north east corner of the main prairie site.

Students from Our Lady of Lourdes at the Sharon Creek Tallgrass Prairie Demonstration Garden - June, 1999

Arranged to be an orderly example of some of the plants to be found on the main site, it too has obeyed the laws of nature and has become a little less 'orderly' as plants self-seed or send out runners, while other plants have lived out their life span. Still, with appropriate signage, it fulfills its role as a guide to what various plants look like at the current time of the year.

From the Tall Coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) which has grown to five feet, to the even higher Tall Sunflower (Heliantus giganteus) towering over visitors at nine feet, the demonstraation garden illustrates the "tall" part of our prairie. And the lush growth of Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), and Canada Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis) show what the prairie is all about.

Included, too, in the demonstration garden, are various forbs such as Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsute), Canada Tick-trefoil (Desmodium canadense), Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), Dense Blazingstar (Liatris spicata), Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridflora), and various asters. And in June of 2003, we added many new plants, including over fifty plugs of False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) grown from seed by Grade 3 students of Middlesex County (see article above). From early spring to late fall, visitors to Sharon Creek Tallgrass Prairie should make the “Demo Garden” their first stop.

Tallgrass Ontario

Tel: (519)873-4631
Charitable Registration #88787 7819 RR0001