Alpha Industries

Horseshoe Prairie Garden
Research for the Horseshoe Prairie Garden began in January 2002 and the garden was planted in the Spring of 2003.  It takes about 3 years (or growing seasons) to establish a prairie garden, so during 2005 the garden was lush with 25 forbs (plants known for their flowers) and 3 grasses, all native to Ohio.

The Horseshoe Prairie Garden is a project to evaluate various methods of installing and maintaining a prairie garden.  There are 5 plots totaling about 500 square feet of garden space.  Each plot was planted in a different way so that Master Gardeners could assess techniques and make recommendations about:
1.  which species might be most desirable;
2.  whether to use seed, transplants, or mature plants
3.  whether to till the soil; and
4.  how to control weeds.
This information will be provided through Delaware County Extension Service to homeowners interested in low-maintenance gardening with native plants.

Named after the horseshoe that turned up when the soil was tilled, the Horseshoe Prairie Garden is located at Orange Township Hall, 1680 Orange Road, Lewis Center, OH.  Master Gardeners will be providing instructions to township staff who will be taking over maintenance of the garden in 2006.
Plants in the Horseshoe Prairie Garden

Common Name                      Botanical name

Nodding Onion                        Allium cernuum
Sullivant's milkweed                 Asclepias sullivantii
Butterflyweed                          Asclepias tuberosa
New England aster                  Aster novae-angliae
Flase white indigo                    Baptisia lactea
Sideoats grama (grass)             Bouteloua curtipendula
Partridge pea                           Chamaecrista fasciculata
Lanceleaf coreopsis                 Coreopsis lanceolata
Purple coneflower                    Echinacea purpurea
Rattlesnake master                   Eryngium yuccifolium
Sneezeweed                            Helenium autumnale
Round-headed bush clover      Lespedeza capitata
Dense blazing star                   Liatris spicata
Wild bergamot                        Monarda fistulosa
Foxglove beardtongue             Penstemon digitalis
Hairy beardtongue                  Penstemon hirsutus
Obedient plant                        Physostegia virginiana
Virginia mountain mint             Pycnanthemum virginianum
Gray-headed coneflower        Ratibida pinnata
Black-eyed Susan                  Rudbeckia hirta
Little bluestem (grass)            Shizachyrium scoparium
Royal catchfly                        Silene regia
Cupplant                               Silphium perforiatum
Riddell's goldenrod                Solidago riddellii
Prairie dropseed (grass)         Sporobolus heterolepsis
Spiderwort                            Tradescantic oliensis
Heartleaf golden
Alexanders                            Zizia aptera
Golden Alexanders                Zizia aurea
 

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age,disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

Updated: January 2006


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