post by Donna Short, Chapter member and volunteer
Home of Eileen & Terry Graessle
Wednesday Aug 14 & Saturday Aug 17
Eileen began to take interest in native plants twenty years ago. Five years ago, she decided to change careers and earn a degree in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health. There she learned about the interconnectedness and interdependence of life in native ecosystems. She then began transforming her 1.8 acre yard and joined Wild Ones St Louis.
Eileen worked as a restoration volunteer at the Shaw Nature Reserve and is modeling her yard to be like their informal nature, building ecosystems. Especially important is attracting insects since they are essential to healthy soil and food webs. She began with a lawn, lots of honeysuckle and trees!
She’s been dealing with one of the most common challenges: the battle against invasives such as winter creeper and honeysuckle.
Indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa) was planted to replace honeysuckle and provide a privacy screen
Maintaining the property is a major task. She had a large gingko tree which was recently removed. Also, there are highly aggressive natives such as snakeroot and white vervain which the deer don’t eat. She calls this the “summer of regrets” since she is removing things she planted which became aggressive: day lily, yellow ironweed, blackberry, lemon balm and oregano.
Eileen’s biggest challenge is her ongoing battle with deer. She says “every decision I make starts with deer pressure and how to protect my work from the deer. They are hungry and have figured out how to conquer my defenses.” Maintaining and protecting her yard requires major investments in time and money! She starts plants from seed to reduce cost and increase the likelihood they will successfully tolerate deer browsing, since the roots are established first. MDC seedlings are planted every year at a minimal cost.
Her strategies to combat deer include mechanical barriers to deer browsing such as cages, fencing, electric fence and debris piled to prevent jumping. She plants redundantly to have enough left over after deer browsing and uses sedges and grasses which the deer avoid.
Cages used to protect plants and bushes
Other challenges include spring flood zones which she thwarts with water-loving species: ninebark, rose mallow, button bush, false indigo and cypress. This year the cicadas and falling trees damaged her garden.
There are over 100 sun and shade plants. The prairie (below) in full sun is courtesy of an MSD Rainscaping Grant – this is year 2.
Eileen has positioned pollinator plants in the corridor beneath the power lines which have the potential for habitat for birds, pollinators and other species that are declining, according to a suggestion by wildlife biologists.
This is the area protected by electric fencing. You immediately notice how lush and green everything appears – since it’s not open to deer browsing on a regular basis (only when they manage to jump the fence) and the plants are flourishing.
Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) and Brown-eyed susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Rose turtlehead (Chelone obliqua)
Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) flourishing in front of the house.
A second area surrounded by electric fence protects the trees from the deer.
Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) and Rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos) growing at the property entrance. This very dry street-side area contains tough plants which are surviving deer and intense afternoon sun.
Eileen shares a Passion Flower plant with a Wild Ones Member.
There is a rain garden in a shaded area behind the house, fed by the sump pump outlet. Hawks and great horned owls are nesting nearby. Future plans include totally eliminating winter creeper and managing invasives at the maintenance level. Eileen hopes to include a water feature in the next year.
Currently her yard is a Wild Ones Certified Habitat, Bring Conservation Home Certified Silver awaiting re-evaluation and was included on the 2022 Open Yards Tour.
