Several years ago, the nun’s planted a beautiful wildflower garden in one of the parking lot run-off areas. For a few years, it was absolutely beautiful, but the past year or two, grasses have taken over. Every year, the nuns put in for a permit for a controlled burn of the area, every year, their request is rejected.

Does anyone know of a way other than burning to revitalize a wildflower garden?

I remember reading about restoration of a wildflower meadow in a booklet I picked up at the Vermont Wildflower Farm in Charlotte, Vt. when we were vacationing nearby at Shelbourne many years ago.

They emphasized only planting native wildflower seed indigenous to your specific area. The reason being: the hardier the wildflower, the more prolific and more likely it'll beat out invasive grasses and weeds...hopefully, since, obviously, there's also indigenous native grasses just as determined to survive.

Tilling, as you probably know, will only spread more grass seeds and uproot and disperse runners of grasses that spread via that route. Soooo, question: Is the area of a size that it can be totally covered w/either very deep (as in "sun blocking") mulch/weed cover/newspapers? Or even the dreaded black plastic?

Since the burning would do a number on the seeds of potential existing wildflowers as well as grasses, then the covering of all would do no less. It's advised to do that in lieu of burning. Then once you're sure everything's sufficiently suffocated, uncover and then till. That'll bring up any latent grass seeds or runners. Then recover. That'll take care of those late-comers.

It's rather labor intensive. Because after all that, then the area should be raked clean and then reseeded - over, over seeded - w/nothing but natives. I hope the nuns can get some volunteer help or they've got strong backs of their own. (The nuns I remember as a young girl could wield a pretty strong ruler and no doubt, a shovel, too.)

I looooove wildflower meadows/gardens. I suppose, in a way, you can say that much of my garden is a pseudo-organized-semi-native wildflower garden. I wish them luck w/however they're able to handle this. Indeed a burn would be easier, but bureaucracy is never easy. Like you don't know that already, right?

My front slope was dug up several years ago for a leach field and invasive weeds have taken over. Every year a new variety seems to move in and go crazy and it's too large and area for me to do anything about. I planted wildflower seed but over the years they have nearly died out except for the flax. But...the natives are ocming back and thriving, drought tolerant flowers that no one in their mind would package in a seed mix, but they look right there, curly cup gum weed, mouse eared chick weed, fairy trumpets, locoweed, even penstemon. It can take years for a wildflower meadow to recover and most grow in harmony with native grasses.

So, if they are intent about having a showy spot, I think Gardenz is right, wipe everything out and start again. I kind of like the slow progression of nature.

maggie

How large an area are you dealing with. My first thought was 'cut it for hay'. If cut at the proper time, that would clip the grass seeds off. Then I realized you may be talking about a relatively small area. Still, I'd mow it.

If I remember right, you're in Michigan? Lots of prairie there and native grasses. In time, a wildflower meadow left on it's own is going to revert to a mixed prairie, mostly grass with wildflowers mixed in.

The thing to do is figure out if it's invasive grasses taking over, or just native grasses doing their natural thing.

If they want all flowers, it's going to have to be a higher maintenance place than a strictly natural area would be.

I don't know about your area, but in my area there aren't many native wild flowers that are actually showy. Of course I have a much drier climate too.

I think the only way would be to do the burn or I have heard of getting seed from the nation park service.

Local paper had an article about a similiar rain-off area at one of the town halls. They were calling it a "rain garden."

No advice though on this situation.

The area is quite large -- at least I consider it large -- I'd say it is about the length of my city block and half as wide. So, plastic and/or newspaper is probably out of the question. The facility is a combination of a nun's retirement home and medical care faclitity for nuns -- although the old gals do a great job tending to their little 5x5 square plots, I don't think they are up to any high maintenance work. As for haying it -- we are in the city, so it may be a bit difficult to come up with the equipment to do it. I must say, although I miss the more flowery stage of the area, it is quite nice the way it is. The birds absolutely love it and are often resting atop the sturdier grasses. Perhaps we should just learn to love it as it is.

Matt... I love the "rain garden" idea. The city has rules regarding runoff. Most facilites bury cisterns under the parking lot, my office just built the parking lot like a bowl (great plan, BTW, since we always have 4 or 5 cars flood when it rains), but a few of them take the time and space to build nice wetland areas. A friend of mine used to work at an engineering company that specialized in eco-friendly parking lots which were really simple ideas (the checker-board pavers, more tree islands) which are not just eco-friendly, but car friendly too. (I know my car would love to park in a shady spot that wouldn't be threatened with flooding. )