Embrace the Natives!

Native plants, that is – grasses, prairie flowers, native shrubs, and hardy, drought-tolerant trees.

In the high-elevation prairies of Colorado and elsewhere east of the Rockies, native grasses may include buffalo grass, blue grama, needle and thread, three awn, red three awn, and other grasses. For grazing livestock, we’ve been encouraged by our conservation districts to sow smooth brome and various wheat grasses as well as the natives.

In a semi-arid environment, it doesn’t make sense to install a high-maintenance lawn of Kentucky Blue Grass. It requires too much water and doesn’t hold up well to drought and other rigors of the environment. Xeriscaping is a desirable alternative to a manicured lawn. If you do want a grassy area, I suggest using buffalo grass. It’s native, drought tolerant, hardy, and naturally is short – about ankle high, so requires little if any mowing. If it dries up during a drought, it’s still likely to come back when the moisture returns; it doesn’t require watering.

Shrubs that sucker up from the roots have an advantage in that they can regenerate new top growth. These include lilacs, golden currant, native American plum.

More to come…Find the videos and pics of the golden currants with the hummingbird moths.