This prairie garden, created in 1999, is located in front of the administration building of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority in London, Ontario. It was created as part of a larger naturalization project that saw dozens of horticultural plants removed from the grounds and replaced with locally native plants.

The juniper bushes that once grew in this ‘circle garden’ were pulled out in the fall of 1998 with a back-hoe and a loose sandy loam soil was added. A plan was developed on paper for the garden that included a woodchip path through the middle, large boulders for aesthetics, a small stone pond for wildlife, and over 24 species of tallgrass prairie plants grown in clumps. The plants were arranged such that the smaller plants (e.g. little bluestem, prairie smoke) would be visible from the path or edge and the taller plants (e.g. tall sunflower) were positioned in the middle. Colour and flowering time were also considered in the arrangement.

In June of 1999 plugs obtained from a local native plant nursery (Pterophylla) were planted in the garden according to the plan. Five plugs were planted together to form a clump of one species. Plant labels were added so visitors and staff could identify the various flowers and grasses.

Some watering was carried out that first summer to help the plugs get established but the garden no longer requires watering. The garden is hoed only once a year in the late spring after the native plants can be identified from the weeds. The light soil makes this task fairly easy. Once the plants reach their full height in summer, there is very little exposed soil for weeds to take root so very little weeding is needed. The dead stalks are cut off near the base of the plants and removed in the early spring to assist with hoeing and to keep the garden from filling in.

Today (2004) the garden has more than met our expectations. Robust clumps of colourful flowers (black-eyed Susan, grey-headed coneflower, prairie smoke, tall coreopsis, ironweed, dense blazing star) are interspersed with elegant grasses (little bluestem, big bluestem, prairie cordgrass and others). The colours peak in mid August.

The garden is located within the Fanshawe Conservation Area in northeast London and is open to the public. For directions, call (519) 451-2800.

Tallgrass Ontario

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