Wayside Prairie

If you’ve recently passed by the northwest corner of Routes 97 & 123, directly across from Historic Wayside Park, you may have noticed some major changes. Over the past couple of years, invasive species, dead green ash, and other trees have been cleared as part of the first phase of an exciting project—the creation of a small shortgrass prairie.

This site, an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) right-of-way, is located within the 66-mile-wide Route 66 Monarch Flyway, a critical migratory corridor for monarch butterflies. A few years ago, Menard County Trails and Greenways (MCTG) approached IDOT with the idea of converting this area into pollinator habitat. Given IDOT’s commitment to enhancing pollinator environments statewide, they quickly embraced the proposal. IDOT promptly began removing the overgrowth of trees, invasives, and weeds to prepare for the prairie transformation.

Black-eyed susan, bee balm, gray headed coneflower

Last fall, MCTG sourced prairie seed from Mason State Tree Nursery, with generous contributions of additional seed and rice hulls from Pheasants Forever and IDOT. The area was prepared by IDOT, spraying to remove the existing non-native vegetation, and then seed was drilled mid-winter to allow for stratification. The seed mix included over 32 species of native Illinois wildflowers and grasses, some of which are already thriving. Early bloomers like black-eyed Susans are bringing a burst of color to the site, and as time goes on, many more species will emerge, creating a vibrant, diverse shortgrass prairie right here in Menard County.

Invasive teasel amongst the black-eyed susans

The first year of prairie establishment requires careful monitoring and maintenance. The site has been mowed three times this growing season to prevent weeds from going to seed. Fortunately, this mowing doesn’t impact the slow-growing prairie plants, which focus on developing deep root systems in their first year. Although the area was sprayed to eliminate existing vegetation before seeding, weed seeds lingering in the soil continue to sprout. Spot-spraying and manual removal of invasives like teasel, wild parsnip, and thistles will be necessary until the prairie plants become more established and the weed seeds have been eradicated from the seed bank.

Prairie restoration is a lesson in patience. It can be disheartening to see weeds pop up, but there’s also a lot to be excited about in this early stage. Seedlings of swamp milkweed, bundleflower, purple coneflower, beardtongue, golden Alexander, wild quinine, little bluestem, asters, beebalm, and many other native species have already been spotted throughout the site!

If you’d like to support this project, consider collecting seed to donate to increase the diversity of the prairie (contact us for details on desired species) or contribute towards the purchase of additional seed by donating to our Historic Wayside Park & Prairie Fund . Keep an eye out for future volunteer workdays, where we’ll engage in activities like overseeding and invasive species management to help the prairie thrive.

Planting Party for Wee Ones

Trails & Greenway is a proud sponsor of this family event organized by Birth to Five Illinois: Region 51 to introduce little ones to gardening with hands on experience of planting vegetable and native pollinator plant seeds. They will also learn about the importance of pollinators for our food supply.  See the image below for event details and list of sponsors. If you’re interested in helping out let us know.

Sip n’ Sow Seed Sowing Workshop

Sip n’ Sow Seed Sowing Workshop
1st & 3rd Boutique & Wine Bar
January 12th from 6:00 to 8:00

1st & 3rd Boutique & Wine Bar has generously donated their event space. Please show your support — come early to shop, get a beverage & maybe a charcuterie board!

Event Limited to 30 Registered Participants — Fill Out  Form at Bottom of Page

It’s never too soon to think of spring! Join some adult-only fun at the Sip n’ Sow Workshop! Sip a glass of wine and sow some native flower seeds for your summer garden.  Native plants attract pollinators and serve as butterfly host plants, including many species growing on the square in Petersburg. 

The evening will kick off with a slide presentation with photos and discussion of some of the species that will be available. Participants will then use the winter sowing technique to plant native species of their choosing. Seeds, soil, tools, and some containers provided. Participants are encouraged to bring additional CLEAN plastic milk jugs if you wish to plant multiple containers. 

Alana McKean (Starhill Forest Arboretum), Cindy Andreasen (Illinois Extension Master Gardener), and Terri Treacy (Menard County Trails & Greenways) will be leading the workshop. Bring your questions about gardening with native plants and any native seeds you wish to share!

No fee but donations appreciated! And, please support 1st & 3rd — come early, shop, grab a beverage and even a bite to eat!

Questions? Email Cindy at event@menardcountytrailsandgreenways.org;   (Please don’t contact 1st & 3rd — use the email provided!)

For planning purposes registration is required.

Form submission is now closed.

Plant pollinator habitat at home

Wanting to add more pollinator habitat at home? Look no further: native plant seed packets are available again in Petersburg! You can find displays at the Petersburg Public Library, 1st and 3rd Boutique, the Talisman, and the Crazy Daisy Gift Shop. This year we are offering 13 colorful species collected from the plantings on Petersburg’s square, Historic Wayside Park and our members’ own gardens and prairies. The packets are free, but we welcome donations that support Menard County Trails & Greenways. The displays will be restocked until we run out!

Wondering how to choose? 

Check out blog posts highlighting the available species:

Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Purple Prairie Clover, Golden Alexanders

Small Yellow Wild Indigo, Butterfly Milkweed, Blue Star

Black-eyed Susan, Rattlesnake Master, Purple Coneflower

Swamp Milkweed, Sneezeweed, Aromatic aster

We’ve added one new species to the mix this year: Wild quinine. More on that species soon!

Wondering how to plant them? 

Follow the detailed planting instructions on the back of each packet, and check out this blog post with instructions on the winter sowing method. Also– watch for an announcement about upcoming winter sowing workshops where we’ll have these species and many more to share!

Winter Seed Sowing Check In

Time to check in with our winter sowers! In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of seedling germination. There is some variation, so it may have taken some containers a long time to show anything, but by now they should all have germinated and growing!

Participants at two winter sowing workshops enjoyed creating their own miniature greenhouses.

Removing the Tops and Watering

The weather has been pretty erratic this month, with some very warm days and some very cold nights. Up to this point, the top of the milk jug or container lid has helped to retain moisture and protect seedlings from temperature extremes and wind. Now that the temperatures have turned quite warm some days, it is important to open the containers up. This allows for good air circulation that will toughen up the plants and prevent fungal diseases. On particularly warm days, leaving the lid on can be very detrimental. Those delicate seedlings can bake in the heat! Continue reading “Winter Seed Sowing Check In”

Winter Seed Sowing

Winter seed sowing is a great way to grow most native plants! The seeds of many native species require cold, moist stratification to germinate. This occurs naturally when a seed falls on the soil and goes through an average Illinois winter.

These conditions can be mimicked in the refrigerator with a moist paper towel or a spoonful of sand, planting the seeds after meeting the required time for stratification of a particular species.

Winter sowing is an even simpler option—great for gardeners of all levels of experience. Planting in a milk jug or other recycled container gives seedlings a head start, as the containers create a mini-greenhouse to trap heat, speeding up germination and protecting seedlings during spring cold snaps, and lets nature work its magic! Continue reading “Winter Seed Sowing”

Pollinator Plants for Your Garden — Part 4

This post wraps up our 4 part blog series describing 12 easy-to-grow plants for attracting pollinators (butterflies, bees, etc) to your garden. View earlier blog posts here.

The final three plants described in the post are swamp milkweed, sneezeweed and aromatic aster. All 12 species discussed in the series are available for free (while supplies last!) a locations around Petersburg–see December 12th blog for details. Continue reading “Pollinator Plants for Your Garden — Part 4”

Pollinator Plants for Your Garden — Part 3

yellow coneflower
Black-eyed Susan is a prolific bloomer with showy yellow daisy-like flowers July through September.

This is Part 3 of a 4 part blog series describing 12 easy-to-grow plants for attracting pollinators (butterflies, bees, etc) to your garden. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, you can read Part 1 here;  read Part 2 here. The 12 species discussed in the series are all available for free (while supplies last!) a locations around Petersburg–see December 12th blog, Create Your Own Pollinator Habitat at Home, for details. Continue reading “Pollinator Plants for Your Garden — Part 3”

Pollinator Plants for Your Garden – Part 2

Pollinator Planting on Petersburg Square

This is Part 2 of a 4 part blog series describing 12 easy-to-grow plants for attracting pollinators (butterflies, bees, etc) to your garden. If you missed Part 1 last week, you can read it here. The 12 species discussed in the series are all available for free (while supplies last!)–see December 12th blog, Create Your Own Pollinator Habitat at Home, for details. Continue reading “Pollinator Plants for Your Garden – Part 2”

Pollinator Plants for your Garden – Part 1

This is the first of a 4 part blog series describing 12 easy-to-grow plants for attracting pollinators (butterflies, bees, etc) to your garden. In addition, most of the species provide birds with seed in the winter–so don’t cut back plants until late spring!! The 12 species are all available for free (while supplies last!)–see December 12th blog, Create Your Own Pollinator Habitat at Home, for details.

Each Thursday through January 5th we’ll feature 3 of the 12 plants with detailed descriptions of the plants as well as specific sowing instructions. Note however, for those that say to direct sow in spring, you may actually direct sow them in late fall/winter.  In nature the seeds would go through winter and just come up when they’re ready. If you’re late fall/winter sowing a bunch of plants, it’s kind of convenient to just do them all the same way! Continue reading “Pollinator Plants for your Garden – Part 1”