{"id":5643,"date":"2017-09-25T14:17:26","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T14:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siteandinsight.com\/?p=5643"},"modified":"2017-09-25T14:17:26","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T14:17:26","slug":"the-big-meadow-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/the-big-meadow-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Meadow, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is it accurate to call The Big Lawn at Glen Villa The Big Meadow? If you use an American definition, the answer is yes. \u00a0If you consult an\u00a0English\u00a0dictionary, the answer is less clear.<\/p>\n

Webster’s Dictionary defines\u00a0a meadow as a tract of low or level land producing grass which is mown for hay, \u00a0and that definition fits precisely. Allowing the sweep of grass beside our house that was tended for decades to remain untouched produced six large bales of hay last year, the first year we didn’t mow regularly.\u00a0\u00a0Those bales were so big and heavy that we left them in place all winter, using them as buffers to prevent grandchildren sliding down a snow-covered hill from\u00a0sliding over the bank\u00a0and into the lake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Bales

Bales come in different sizes. These are 4.5 ft across.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Based on an English dictionary that adds the presence of wildflowers to the mix, our Big Meadow is falling short.<\/p>\n

Regardless of definitions, I consider wildflowers an essential element of a successful meadow.\u00a0There are a few that have appeared\u00a0on what used to be our lawn but not as many as I want. Far from it.<\/p>\n

Trying to remedy this,\u00a0I seeded selected areas of the Big Meadow last fall. The results were not impressive.\u00a0A few seeds produced flowers but there were few, if any, signs of\u00a0the long-lived perennials I’d been hoping for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"These

Flowers like these are part of most commercial wildflower seed mixes. They may bloom again next year but in year 3? I doubt it.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The impact of long-lived perennials continues year after year. And perhaps next year, the seeds I sowed will begin to show up. Perhaps, as well, the Agastache I planted will begin to spread. I hope so.<\/p>\n

But in the meantime, slowly but surely, the patches of red dock, or sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)\u00a0<\/em>are spreading.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"I

The patch of red dock near the linden tree is larger this year than last — or so I think. This year I actually\u00a0measured it so that next year I can make a genuine comparison.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, so is the ragweed. Some hours were spent this year, removing each clump to ensure it didn’t go to seed. Mowing once a year in late September or early October will prevent the regrowth of a forest, the natural condition of land in this part of the world, but it won’t stop the ragweed. It is all around us and will continue to show up. This is discouraging and I don’t know whether I’ll have to accept it\u00a0or continue to fight what I think will be a losing battle. \u00a0(Advice, anyone?)<\/p>\n

Last summer I chronicled the development of the lawn each month, delighted to see how the grass grew and changed colour, almost from week to week. This year, I’ve been less delighted, perhaps because I’ve been less surprised. But one thing has delighted me enormously\u00a0\u00a0— we’ve seen almost no Canada geese.<\/p>\n

Getting rid of the geese was the first and perhaps the most important\u00a0reason for making the change from lawn to meadow, and letting the grass grow seems to be doing the trick. Occasionally this summer a few geese stopped by, but there weren’t many, and they didn’t come\u00a0often. What we saw instead were deer — lots of them, and almost daily.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"This

In late April a whole herd of deer appeared, only some of whom are shown in this photo. Throughout the summer a smaller group including three fawns appeared regularly. \u00a0Seeing them play on the grass in the late afternoon was almost enough to make me like them.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The deer nibbled away at tender grass\u00a0along the path and at anything (everything?) else that tickled their taste buds. I doubt it was the aesthetics that attracted them, but that was what appealed to me. The mown line, a\u00a0curving strip of green, was a striking contrast throughout the summer months, whether seen from the house looking out…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"I

I took this photo near the end of July. The mown path remained green all summer, thanks to the amount of rain we received.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

or from the linden tree looking back.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The

The house is almost hidden in the darkness at the end of the path.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even now, as we near the end of September, the path is green and inviting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Late

Late afternoon light casts shadows across the Big Meadow.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

This second year of the transformation of lawn to meadow has gone well. Longer grass has discouraged the geese and attracted the deer, and this is a trade-off I’m happy to live with. So whether more wildflowers appear or not, I’m pleased. For now, at least.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is it accurate to call The Big Lawn at Glen Villa The Big Meadow? If you use an American definition, the answer is yes. \u00a0If you consult an\u00a0English\u00a0dictionary, the answer is less clear. Webster’s Dictionary defines\u00a0a meadow as a tract of low or level land producing grass which is mown for hay, \u00a0and that definition…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,21],"tags":[241,37,610,318],"class_list":["post-5643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glen-villa","category-plants","tag-deer","tag-glen-villa","tag-the-big-meadow","tag-wildflowers","category-38","category-21","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}