For an alternative, use Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’ and Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal.’
AN HOUR
The prairie style is a contemporary planting theme that has become popular in the last few decades. It uses a lot of greens, particularly grasses, but offsets them with flowers that are naturally found in prairies and savannahs. As well as being stylish, it is also a very low-maintenance design that will cope with most conditions, so it really is a win-win, especially when combined with a tasteful container. Some grasses are also evergreen, providing year-round interest, which is always a bonus.
For this project, I am using metal as a contemporary material to pair with the planting, though you could use any type of container. When using metal it is important to put a membrane between the container and the soil to prevent the plants’ roots overheating and scorching, as metal gets very hot.
TIP: Add bulbs for year-round interest.
I’ve used:
Grasses Carex morrowii (variegated) and Miscanthus sinensis
Flowers Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus), but any plant with a traditional daisy-like flower will give a prairie feel.
Annual prairie—Annual poppy with Panicum elegans and Cosmos.
Purple and yellow prairie—Stipa gigantea, Echinacea, Verbena bonariensis and Stipa tenuissima.
Daisy flower prairie—Echinacea purpurea, Rudbeckia, Briza media, and Stipa tenuissima.
In a shady spot, Anemone x hybrida can replace other flowers.
An upcycled box big enough for at least ten plants
A drill with a metal drill bit
Plastic or impermeable liner (thick for maximum insulation) or use bubble wrap with holes cut in it for drainage
Small pottery pieces or small stones
Soil—most types will do, depending on your plant species, but a multipurpose soil mixed with topsoil is fine for most species
Horticultural sand
Grasses of your choice
Flowering plants of your choice
1.Drill at least five good-sized (0.8-inch [2-cm] diameter) holes in the bottom of your container for drainage.
2.Spread the liner inside the container for insulation—you don’t need to attach it (metal is very hard to attach anything to); the soil will hold it in place once the container is filled. If you prefer, you can apply masking tape to the liner until the soil is in place.
3.Make five big holes in the liner, corresponding with those you’ve drilled into the bottom of the pot, to allow water to drain away.
4.Place plenty of broken-pot pieces in the bottom of the container; they don’t have to cover the whole base, but the more you use, the less chance there is of your container becoming waterlogged. If you don’t have enough pottery pieces, some small stones will do the job.
5.Mix the compost with some sand—a few scoops or shovelfuls will do.
6.Fill the container with your soil mix two-thirds of the way up.
7.Arrange the grasses and flowers in the container according to be where you are putting the container (see opposite). Play with the planting arrangement until you are happy—you can always move plants around later if you change your mind.
8.Fill any gaps around the plants’ root balls with the remaining soil and then water them in well.
9.Feed the plants a little throughout the growing season with some slow-release fertilizers, but try not to overdo it. Perennials don’t need as much food as annual plants.
If the container will be viewed from all directions, you may want to put the tallest plants in the center, but concealing plants behind taller plants so that they’re seen only from certain angles can be effective, especially in modern designs. If your container will be set against a wall, put the tallest plants at the back so that all of them are shown off to their full potential. You could also cascade everything down from one corner. In a lot of prairie planting, the plants are arranged in a linear style, which is a nice option—just put all the plants of any one species in a line together.
