Home, Home on the Range

The NRCS recently provided assistance in the creation of a special urban landscape in Billings. Home on the Range is the headquarters for the Northern Plains Resource Council (NPRC) and the Western Organization of Resource Councils. The new building recently received the prestigious Platinum Award from the Green Building Council--construction of the building and landscape were funded solely from private donations and grants.

In the fall of 2006, Home on the Range approached Susan Winslow, at the Bridger Plant Materials Center, on the development of a cooperative demonstration planting for a water-wise, low-maintenance landscape. Susan brought on board NRCS’s Valerie Robertson of the Billings Field Office and Larry Holzworth, retired Plant Materials Specialist. The xeriscape design called for three grass areas, each with the objective of providing examples of drought-tolerant alternatives to bluegrass lawns. NRCS contributed grass and wildflower seed of conservation plant materials for two of these naturalized-type plantings. Both of the gardens are located on the north side, between the recycled glass parking area and the main building.

The largest of the grass areas is 6,400 ft² and was seeded to a mix of native prairie grasses and wildflowers. The grass mix contained ‘Rosana’ western wheatgrass, ‘Critana’ thickspike wheatgrass, prairie Junegrass, High Plains Sandberg bluegrass, Bad River blue grama, ‘Killdeer’ sideoats grama, and ‘Rimrock’ Indian ricegrass. A mix of easy-to-grow native forbs of Stillwater prairie coneflower, Indian blanketflower, Maple Grove prairie flax, and Rocky Mountain penstemon were seeded in drifts throughout the irrigation zone. We hope to allow elements of the garden to reach full growth for a colorful display of blossoms and mature seedheads.

A smaller area of grass (1,800 ft²) will be maintained as a lawn, but kept to a taller height than traditional turf. The area was seeded to a mix of ‘Canby’ bluegrass, ‘Covar’ sheep fescue, and ‘Sodar’ streambank wheatgrass.

The areas for planting were prepared in the fall of 2006. A small amount of compost was incorporated as a soil amendment into the salvaged topsoil. Weeds were hand-pulled that fall and the following spring. The seeding date was April 28, 2007. The seeding rate for the prairie was fairly heavy, close to 1 lb/1,000 ft² and quite heavy for the lawn, 2-2.5 lb/1,000 ft². The seeded areas were irrigated regularly through the summer months. Grass and forbs germinated and grew well despite the heat. Mowing was used as a method of weed control. Quite a few weeds are showing up, but this is not surprising for a long-time empty asphalt lot in town! The most troublesome perennial weed is field bindweed. White clover also made a strong showing in the lawn. We are investigating methods to control the weeds.

Home on the Range appreciates the level of technical assistance and generous donation of time and materials from the NRCS. NPRC is committed to maintaining and establishing the landscape as a beautiful island of diversity in the heart of Billings.

Linda Iverson, landscape designer for Home on the Range

**Editor’s Note** In keeping with the above topic, the following is an excerpt from Plant Chat Winter 2008, distributed by the Bismarck Plant Materials Center: “We offer the following seven plantscaping recommendations for the homeowner to consider in the New Year to conserve water and energy, and help make this a more environmentally sustainable planet for everybody!”

• Convert 50% of your bluegrass lawn to reduced maintenance grasses, flowers, trees, and shrubs. Analyze the site and place plants according to their needs.
• Avoid planting turf in areas that are hard to mow such as steep inclines and narrow strips along driveways and sidewalks.
• Use a layer of organic mulch around plants to reduce evaporation and save hundreds of gallons of water a year. Mulch out to the drip-line whenever possible.
• Water your plants deeply but less frequently to create healthier and stronger landscapes. Consider a rain garden to capture water that would otherwise run off.
• Define mowing zones in the yard and avoid mowing everything every weekend. Leave the grass longer in areas not frequently used. Mix in wildflowers for color, interest, and wildlife. Don’t mow the ditches!
• Next time you replace a flower or shrub, choose a low water use plant for year-round landscape color and save up to 550 gallons per year.
• Leave lower branches on trees and shrubs and allow leaf litter to accumulate on top of the soil. This keeps the soil cooler and reduces evaporation.

(Some recommendations taken from the web site, Water – Use It Wisely.)

“More than 24 million acres of suburbia are planted in lawn. Each year $7.5 billion are spent on the care of that lawn, including more than 67 million pounds of pesticides. In addition, the average lawn requires 10,000 gallons of water over the course of a summer to keep it that emerald green so many continue to covet.”

Stevie Daniels, 1995, The Wild Lawn Handbook.

“Lawns are unnatural by their very design because they are composed of non-native grasses fertilized and stimulated into hypergrowth, then cut short weekly. A power mower to mow your lawn will emit more exhaust in half an hour than a car driven 187 miles.”

Greg Horn, 2006, Living Green.

< Back to Plant Materials Today, January 2008 Issue

Last Modified: 01/25/2008