Bunchgrass Garden

Themed Garden: Grasses

Today’s #writeout doodle theme is “Themed Garden.” That’s appropriate for the Steamboat Rock area because the entire area around and on top of Steamboat Rock is either sagebrush or bunchgrass foliage.

The shrub-steppe area is semi-arid, so it makes sense to plant native plants that will  thrive without requiring much water.

Although the Steamboat Rock State Park includes a large grassy area with campground amenities and a large playground, concession stand, and swim showers, the surrounding area is kept natural, and is mostly bunchgrass.

Bunchgrass is lovely to watch waving in the breeze:

Where is information about gardening in these dry lands?

The Washington Native Plant Society provides information for native plant gardening in the the diverse climes of our state. I discovered information about the shrub-steppe blooming plants and  list of where to find seeds. They include a download of dry area plants. They also present plant sales across the state. From their list I discovered a nursery just south of here with native grasses: Wildlands Nursery.

Another resource for shrub-steppe is the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Here’s an example of STEM lessons for elementary about the shrub-steppe.

A main problem we have across the west is the invasion of cheatgrass, of which we are still searching for solutions. It is devastating our native grasslands, harmful to our animals, and prickly painful in our socks!

What native plants could you plant for your area?

And I’ll leave you with another poem, this one by @dogtrax, a response to my poem on Monday. Thank you for the poetic response to our bunchgrass!