Meadow Establishment
We are landscape architects and we need to establish a meadow near the bay in AACo. We need to know how to do it and we need specifications to give a contractor. Can you help or point us in the right direction? SHA was no help. John Rohde
Anne Arundel County Maryland
1 Response
Hello John,
We are not experts on meadow planning and design, but this page (designed for home gardeners) may get you started:
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/how-make-meadow
These three publications, which you may already be aware of, list native species with habitat preferences:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_images/programs/hgic/Publications/HG120_Native_Plants%20_of_MD.pdf
http://www.nativeplantcenter.net/
https://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/pdf/NativePlantsforWildlifeHabitatandConservationLandscaping.pdf
Inspiration and tips may also be found in books such as Gardens of the High Line by Piet Oudolf and Rick Darke and Planting in a Post-Wild World by Claudia West and Thomas Rainer.
There are several wholesale native plant growers in the area (such as Pennsylvania) who may have locally-propagated plants available or who may know of a source who does. There is a native plant seed supplier in the upper midwest who offers a range of species and species mixes (blended for specific habitats) but their genetics may not be local to our populations here.
Miri