A Rite of Spring

New York Ironweed

From the start, our vision for Bean Hill's landscape included natural meadows. Being city folk, we knew nothing about creating and maintaining meadow land, but fortunately discovered Wild Ones (http://www.wildones.org/), an organization dedicated to "healing the Earth one yard at a time" by preserving native plants and restoring natural landscapes. We attended a workshop, did a lot of reading, and prepped the areas  as best we could. (We opted not to burn off the existing vegetation.)

June meadow and Carr Farms

Today two of Bean Hill's 5.6 acres are kept as meadows. I love seeing them evolve during the year. Early on in the growing season, daisies dominate, then echinacea and rudbeckia. The appearance of ironweed, a plant I'd never seen before moving to the country, signals the approach of autumn. Meadows provide a vital habitat, offering food and shelter to birds, insects, and small mammals.

A healthy meadow requires maintenance, and that means mowing it down. Come March, we begin checking the weather for a dry spell when we can mow down the withered stalks. We keep an old Ford tractor with a big mowing deck for the sole purpose of cutting down the meadows once a year. The mowing serves aesthetic as well as practical purposes.The first hard frost means everything in the meadows turns brown and brittle. It adds some winter interest to the landscape, but as spring begins, it's just plain unattractive. Practically speaking, mowing is essential for combatting natural succession, especially in the meadows near our woods. Without mowing, tree seeds will take root and eventually populate the meadow with saplings. Mowing also helps scatter flower and grass seeds still clinging to dried stalks, although by spring, most of these have been dispersed by winter storms.

March meadow and Carr Farms

It's a bit odd to look out across a flattened landscape once the mowing is done, but the payoff comes soon, with fresh grass and sprouting perennials peeping through the cuttings. By early June, the grasses will be 2-3 feet high and growing, and wildflowers will provide spots of color.

Top left: Mowing down the meadow by the pond.

Lower left: The same spot in mid-summer.