Natvik Design Inc.

UPDATE: This talk will also be delivered online via zoom to the Master Gardeners Association of Alberta on May 6 @ 7:00pm. The cost is free for MGAA members and $15 for the general public. A recording of the talk will be available to all how register for an additional week after the live presentation. You can register by using the link to the MGAA website in the comments.

The April 16th date hosted by the Friends of Fish Creek is sold out!

Here are a few Penstemon species blooming in the garden today. Penstemons are incredibly beautiful and easy to grow in western gardens. Most species grow best in a gravelly soil mix, topped with crushed stone.

Prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha) has quite showy flowers, compared to most native grasses. Their flowers appear to glow when they capture the morning and evening sun. In the wild, Prairie Junegrass is a tiny plant. When given space in the garden, it is often 4 to 5 times the size of wild plants. It is short-lived perennial with a typical lifespan of 3-4 years. However, junegrass will self seed in the garden in rocky soils.

PLANT PORTRAIT: Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

OVERVIEW
Little Bluestem is a versatile native grass with many ecological and aesthetic attributes. It is native from Alberta to Quebec and all the way south to Texas.

ECOLOGY
-warm season, bunchgrass that emerges in late spring.
-grows naturally in grasslands, alvars, sand dunes, and oak savannas.
-larval host plant for several species of skippers (a group of small butterflies).
-produces nutritious seeds eaten by winter songbirds (e.g., Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, Bobwhite Quail, many native sparrows).
-stalks are resistant to decay, and serve as excellent nest-building material for many songbirds.

DESIGN QUALITIES
-excellent backdrop for summer-blooming forbs (e.g., Hairy Beardtongue, Cylindrical Blazing-star, Upland White Aster, Nodding Wild Onion).
-early-blooming forbs are ideal companion plants for Little Bluestem (e.g., Prairie Smoke, Moss Phlox).
-dark-green to blue-green foliage in summer.
-turns a beautiful reddish-brown during fall.
-stalks persist with snow for excellent winter interest.