Footstep Garden: Goin' Native...All The Way!

I grew up Native! Wild grasses, flowers and plants was our playground! Trees and holes in the ground were forts and castles! Western South Dakota wild flower!

As a Nebraska transplant I've learned to love the sandhills. It is beautiful and unique land. Driving through acres of wild native grasses and plant species in order to get to my destination is my kind of paradise.

Maybe we are gaining some unwanted attention because of the pipeline debate. Still the sandhills are not for the feint at heart...plants or humans!

According to Nebraska Natural Legacy the Nebraska Sandhills covers 19,300 square miles
in North Central Nebraska. "The Sandhills Ecoregion includes the largest stabilized dune system in the Western Hemisphere and one of the largest, intact native grasslands in North America. The Sandhills remain as one of the last large vestiges of the Great American Plains." (Chapter 7)

At some point in history the Sandhills were similar to the Sahara desert. The Sandhills are semiarid with less then 17 inches on the west. Home to extremes temperatures; the Sandhills is hot and windy in the summer and cold and windy in the winter.

Lots of meadows, small lakes and marshes as one drives around the Sandhills which is full of migrating birds. A giant interstate of flying feathers!

According to the UNL research center, nearly 700 native plant species have been documented. All are stout, enduring and beautiful plants.

If you have never been caressed by the feathery tops of tall grasses or sat in the midst of prairie listening to the constant peaceful rustling of the grasses then you are truly missing something grand.

To me it represents a wild sense of freedom, adaptability, strength and endurance.

Which brings me to my dream of a little piece of sandhill church on the prairie.

Our church has several acres that we have allowed to grow native and manage weeds continually. Trimming, pulling and spraying. This year we are starting some grass seed in order to add more native of the native grasses of big bluestem and little blue stem, Indian grass, buffalo grass prairie sandreed, yucca and wildflowers to the steep Sandhill slopes of the property.

Little Blue Stem


Yucca

Before Intervention on the steep hills. Covered with weeds which are doing the job of helping with erosion. We've learned that we can't just pull and plant or we jeopardize the vulnerable soil.


Little steps...Adding a few at a time. Hoping the taller grasses will help the buffalo grass do better. We had it sprayed several years ago but it is still pretty slow going.