Spring, Planting

Following initial seeding in late March, early April; we held a volunteer planting event with Rice student and community members. Plants were purchased with the support of the Rice University Creative Ventures Grant. Some Texas coneflowers (Rudbeckia texana), Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and Liatris spp. were transplanted with the support of the Coastal Prairie Conservancy.

The initial planting included a simplified palette of endemic prairie plants local to the Houston area including: Blazing Star (Liatris spp.), Texas conflower (Rudbeckia texana), Indian Blanket (Gallardia pulchella), Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium).

We designed a schematic planting plan to establish planting zones which positioned the larger/taller species near the center of the plots and the smaller/lower species near the perimeter.