by Ed Schmidt
The St. Louis Chapter of Wild Ones recently made a grant to The Principia School for the purchase of native plants for a landscaping project that will be used to educate students about native plants.
Lynne Scott, principal at Principia Upper School, writes, “I wanted to send a few pictures of the progress that has been made on the Principia prairie garden! I’ve had some great help from students of all ages as you can see in the pictures.”
Click any photo for a larger version. Click the large photo to advance to the next.
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- Getting ready
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- Prepared bed
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- Initial planting
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- Happy helper
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- Cooperation
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- Mission accomplished
Learn more about the grants program of the St. Louis Chapter.
Hi. I’ve been enjoying the stories in your blog, and find it all very inspiring. I wish, though, that you might provide more information about an event or project. That would be even more inspiring. For example, with this planting at the school, I found myself wondering what plants were chosen to use, and why was each one chosen? Drought tolerant? Easy care? Or just a random selection of prairie natives? What was done to the soil to prepare it for these new plants? What sort of maintenance is required on-going? Of course the plants are native, as mentioned in the article, but still, at least a spring cleanup probably… cutting down the plants from the previous year, etc. And perhaps a photograph next summer to show how the landscape developed and filled in. Just some thoughts. Thanks!
Thanks for your comments. Native Landscaping Grant recipients handle the specifics of plant selection, site preparation and maintenance. Principia School worked with a native plant landscaping consultant on this project. We will invite them to submit photos of the area next year so we can see how it has developed.
For suggestions on plant selection, etc., join us for one of our monthly meetings. They’re a great opportunity to see what has and hasn’t worked well in other places.