Managing Fields And Meadows

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Managing Fields And Meadows

What is often referred to as a meadow is more likely an old field in a state of early succession. Left undisturbed, it is destined to become woodland in many regions. One exception is in the Great Plains, where trees don’t grow without human intervention.

How Fields Evolve
When cropland has been abandoned, grasses and other herbaceous plants colonize the field and make it a meadow. But these early colonizing plants are soon shaded out by woody plants. Colorful wildflowers give way to wild shrubs and then to short-lived poplar and sumac trees. Later, rapidly growing silver maple and box elder trees appear, followed by the climax forest of either conifer or hard maple, beech, oak, and birch. If it’s a meadow you want, annual mowing with a brush mower will be necessary to keep woody plants from developing past the seedling stage.

The Virtues of a Meadow
There’s increasing interest in growing low-maintenance meadows instead of the ecological desert known as a lawn. The reasons are plentiful. For one, natural meadows attract wildlife, particularly butterflies and songbirds. In the springtime, ground-nesting birds rear their young in the cover of grassland. And summer flowers attract insects, which, in turn, attract birds. Autumn provides a bounty of highly nutritious seed for songbirds and their migratory cousins, while winter offers scavengers a chance to forage through the remaining storehouse.

Prairie vegetation is especially hardy. Most native meadow and prairie wildflowers are perennials that can grow on a variety of soils and put up with difficult conditions. It’s not unheard of for some perennials to live 25 years. Drought does little harm to native meadow plants, which either continue to grow and flower or go dormant until it rains.

Meadow Plants
Wildflower seeds are commercially available in a variety of mixes. Packages containing mostly annual seed will give the restless gardener something to cheer about in short order, while perennial wildflowers are better suited for those in it for the long haul. A mix of annuals, biennials, and perennials is a good idea, and don’t fret if the mix includes grass seed. Grass will fill in the space between flowers and provide a suitable backdrop for the floral show. Then, in the fall, grasses put on their own show of colors when they go to seed.

Short-growing grasses like sheep’s fescue and hard fescue are preferable because they won’t be too invasive. Grasses that form clumps, such as little bluestem, side oats grama, and Indian grass are a good match for natural flowers because they leave plenty of space for their showy neighbors. how to manage woodlots is an important skill to have.