East Center Valley – 2022

[To see photos and stories of this prairie in other years, go to the links on the main East Center Valley page.]

We didn’t do much to this prairie this year.  I added a few species to the edges at the wet end – Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) bare root plants near the willows on both sides of the driveway in May, and Fireweed seeds into the circle of Swamp Betony near the willows in December.

Wood Betony Road – the winding strip that we mowed and then planted with Wood Betony in 2016 – is getting more diverse but is still definitely different than the rest of the prairie.  It still has less Canada/Tall Goldenrod, and more of other species especially Grass-leaved Goldenrod.  It’s a good place to collect Wood Betony seeds for future planting.

I sprayed one of the circles of Reed Canary Grass just above the southernmost bluebird box with grass-only herbicide.  I did the spraying in late spring.  The RCG came back later in the summer – it needs to be sprayed again – probably several more times.

One of the Lesser Purple Fringed Orchids I planted bloomed again and set seed.

1/15/2022

 

2/12/2022

 

2/23/2022

 

3/24/2022

 

5/27/2022  This is the path – an old road – that Todd cleared a few years ago.  It runs just inside the edge of the woods above East Center Valley Prairie.  The Rutschows say that it wasn’t used much when they were growing up, but it once was a road to the old house that was back near where the cabin is now.  We don’t use it much either, but there’s a small circle of Garlic Mustard here that I treat every spring, and it’s a nice shady path on a hot day.

 

6/8/2022

 

6/15/2022

 

7/2/2022  Common Milkweed coming up where I sprayed Reed Canary Grass

 

7/28/2022  Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid – blooming at the wet end of the prairie

 

9/9/2022  Even though I only have one plant blooming, it made seeds this year.

 

8/24/2022

 

8/24/2022  This is the wet end of the prairie, next to the circle of willows.  This used to be thick Reed Canary Grass.  After several years of mowing and planting seeds, it’s much more diverse.

 

8/24/2022  The edges of the driveway in this wet spot are getting better every year – with Swamp Betony, Flat-topped Aster, Blue Lobelia and Common False Foxglove.

 

8/24/2022  This is the part of the prairie that has a dense stand of Cordgrass.  I don’t know what to do to make it more diverse, so we’re just waiting to see what will happen.

 

9/6/2022

 

9/6/2022

 

10/14/2022

 

10/21/2022

 

10/22/2022

 

10/25/2022

 

11/19/2022

 

11/25/2022

 

12/16/2022

 

12/18/2022

 

12/18/2022