Sedgwick County Conservation District Kansas
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Sedgwick County Soil Stories: Common Ground
Featuring a native plant garden

Picture
​House built in 1898. She moved there in 1994
Lost of pecan remnants, old trees
Started planting annuals, but then had to replant each year – saw plants growing wild and chose to add them to her yard
She looked for KS wildflowers that grew well, connected with KNPS, joined in 2000
SOIL EXPERIMENT: likes purple pineapple - Leavenworth eryngo – tried to imitate its preferred soil. Got small chunks of limestone from roadside, dug a trench at her house, put inlimestone and broke it up into smaller pieces, planted seed. Did well for about 3 years
 
Feels she has modified a local spot with things that belong there – enjoys cicadas, katydids, fireflies – insects do well in her neighborhood because people don’t spray – advantages of lower income, no HOA rules
 
Used to grow peonies, iris, daylilies
Began adding natives she found along roadsides
Pecan trees in backyard
“pretty friendly” soil
 
Backyard:
Cup plant – has square stem, leaves cup water at stem (took pictures of bee on flower and of stem)
-perfoleatum – perforated leaves, blooms late into the season
The life of plants is a sunshine-taking domination game
Wild senna, flase sunflowers (rough leaves), asters, wooly verbena, monarda fistulosa (Wild bergamot, bee balm?)
 
Goals?
-would like to organize her garden “nature is not organized”
-keep diversity
-get rid of invasives
-likes the challenge of growing plants
Add vines and shrubs to her collection
 
 
Recommended Garvey Park at 31st and Hydraulic – sandy soil – vines, understory there inspires her
 
I love the way she interacts with plants – it’s like they are her tribe, she knows them, calls by them, touches the leaves

Sedgwick County Conservation District
providing resources and experiences to promote conservation of natural resources
 
Picture
11832 West Central, Suite 100
Wichita, KS 67212-5184

(316)721-6127
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  • Home
  • About
    • Annual Meeting
    • Annual Workplan
  • Cost Share
    • NPS - waste systems
    • NPS - well plugging
    • NPS - cover crops - grid sampling
    • WR - on farm practices
    • WRAPS
  • Outreach
    • Public Programs
    • Scholarships
    • Soil Stories Project
    • Milpa Project
    • Contribute
    • Contests
    • Educator Resources
    • Calendar
  • Equipment
  • Blog