#engeniscaping

[antimony-ore]

I'm going to coin the word engeniscape, like xeriscape but with any native plants/environment

From the Greek engenìs "native"

[untamed-mi]

Okay, I moved the Ironweed outside today to harden off and had said I was confused because all the seedlings looked different, but I think I've worked out what is what.

I reuse dirt pods that don't successfully sprout so they have a seed bank of other native plants I've grown in the past:

These without the cerated leaves must be the Ironweed I actually meant to grow.

There are a few of these small seedlings in the base of some pods which are either Wild Strawberry or Rough Cinquefoil which I tried to grow last year.

The ones with the cerated leaves ID'd as Joe Pye Weed, which I did try to grow last year as well.

And I recognize this one as Boneset which I also grew last year. (iNat says some kind of mint??)

[untamed-mi]

Also going outside today, the Showy Goldenrod, which had some (but far less) other plants mixed in as well.

[untamed-mi]

This is going to take a while 🥵🪏

Weather was nice for it today though. I'm probably gonna do more when I catch my breath

[untamed-mi]

So I now have a 15 year planting game plan for my native plant list 👏

[untamed-mi]

I just cleared a ton of non native grass today. I got about halfway to the creek.

There's a honeysuckle that's gotta go and there's an autumn olive that I'm going to be bad and move somewhere/save so I can eat them.

Funny enough there was another kind of avens already growing all over here so I just worked around it:

I'm just gonna start with this small corner so I don't completely take out the ecosystem that already exists here, but the bulk of the plants here are not native or invasive.

There's wild chervil, white avens, and virginia creeper that I've seen so far and that's all that gets to stay 😤

[untamed-mi]

I was able to narrow my native plant list down to a few wetland plants that are woodland tolerant and would be perfect to start with where I’m planting:

Cared muskingumensis - Muskingum Sedge

Carex hystercina - Porcupine Sedge

Glyceria striata - Fowl Manna Grass

Calamagrostis canadensis - Bluejoint Grass

Elymus riparius - Riverbank Wild Rye

Erigeron philadelphicus - Philadelphia Fleabane (which already grows here, my pic)

Ranunculus hisidus - Hispid Buttercup

Pakera aurea - Golden Ragwort (my pic)

Maianthemum canadense - Canada Mayflower

Geum rivaled - Water Avens (fav, a related species already grows here)

This is what was suggested I establish first for the ecosystem instead going crazy and planting my whole list all at once. The sedges and grasses will keep "weeds" from establishing and support the flowers that were suggested. Then shrubs and more flowers can be introduced

[untamed-mi]

Wore myself out, all this grass is growing through the metal fence and is a pain to pull up 🥵