In an earlier post, I discussed the foundations of my Meadow Nord planting schemes and the inherent complexity of gardens wilder with intention, modeling the behaviors and patterns of natural systems. The history of art and architecture has often vacillated between simple and and complex movements, each with their own intellectual arguments.The history of horticultural plantings is remarkably simplistic, born of an almost purely aesthetic vision (which isn’t bad, if only it weren’t so one-dimensional or boring). I disagree with simplicity for simplicity’s sake and am planting my own argument in favor of a legible exuberance at the overlap of form and function. I’ll have it wilder, please.
To that end, I planted 80 taxa in phase 1. A dozen or so taxa weren’t available or were backordered until spring, bringing the unofficial count to somewhere north of 90. In my previous post, I described the process of planting the meadow and explained a little bit about how dense planting schemes don’t always make sense mathematically (after the remaining plants are installed this coming spring, Meadow Nord will have 116% of its square footage covered in green matter, assuming a theoretical survival rate of 100%, of course). I’m most excited to see how this assorted assemblage forms its own patterns over time. A planting scheme like this is never really “stable,” as the composition of the community will shift interminably. But it can be durable, an idea I wish we would talk more about in landscape design. I have no illusion that every planting choice I’ve made will work out or that every placement is permanent. But I hope for durability of my assumptions over time as each planting decision occurs within a range of tolerances.
Plant List and Sources
A word about the column heads. Phase, Taxa and Cultivar are fairly obvious. I separate cultivar names into separate fields so I can sort by cultivar within diverse genera like asters, for example.
Component contains labels I often use throughout my design process and in Plants With Style: matrix, structure, emblems, vignettes, kitsch.
I liberally defined the bands for Seasonal Interest. I used approximate dates based on previous experience in Iowa when applicable. For others that I haven’t experienced, I used a guesstimate. For groundcovers like Tiarella, I counted the period from flowering through the time when their leaves start to sag a little in the summer heat. This isn’t to say they wouldn’t contribute ornamentally outside of this period, but the design isn’t relying on it exactly. Here is an example of how I used this data to create a phenologic chart using a Gannt chart template in Excel.

A sample Gantt chart generated from a free Microsoft Excel template.
% of planting signifies the percentage of the entire planting occupied by that taxa. 0% entries result when a species falls below 1%.
Order Qty. indicates the number of units ordered for that taxa. Taxa grown from seed only have 1 unit indicated because I purchased 1 seed packet. I track it this way for costing purposes so I don’t have to break out costs per seed (the rest of the spreadsheet calculates individual costs per plant).
I relied on several Sources to procure this beautiful chaos. Most companies are recognizable. GDMBG stands for Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden indicating plants I purchased through our Spring Garden Festival or propagated from collections I’ve made on behalf of the Garden. My own initials (KDN) or Rainbow Iris Farm (RIF) indicate plants procured from my nursery and garden at my family’s farm.
Meadow Nord Plant List
Phase | Taxa | Cultivar | Component | Seasonal Interest START | Seasonal Interest END | % of planting | Order Qty | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
phase 1 | Agalinis auriculata | Kitsch | 20-Aug | 10-Sep | 0.00 | 1 | Prairie Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Agalinis tenuifolia | Kitsch | 20-Aug | 10-Sep | 0.00 | 1 | Prairie Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Agastache | Velvet Crush | Vignettes | 17-Jul | 11-Sep | 0.01 | 30 | Intrinsic Perennial Gardens |
phase 1 | Allium stellatum | Vignettes | 7-Aug | 4-Sep | 0.03 | 50 | Bluebird Nursery | |
phase 1 | Amorpha nana | Structure | 1-Jul | 30-Jul | 0.02 | 32 | Bluebird Nursery | |
phase 1 | Amsonia tabernaemontana | Storm Cloud | Vignettes | 8-May | 5-Jun | 0.01 | 3 | GDMBG (SGF) |
phase 1 | Amsonia tabernaemontana | Short Stop | Vignettes | 8-May | 5-Jun | 0.01 | 12 | Intrinsic Perennial Gardens |
phase 1 | Anemonopsis macrophylla | Emblems | 1-Jul | 15-Jul | 3 | Opus Plants | ||
phase 1 | Antennaria neglecta | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Antennaria plantaginifolia | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.01 | 100 | Pizzo Native Plant Nursery | |
phase 1 | Aquilegia canadensis | Corbett | Emblems | 24-Apr | 15-May | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery |
phase 1 | Aronia melanocarpa | Iroquois Beauty | Structure | 15-May | 30-Oct | 0.01 | 5 | GDMBG (plants) |
phase 1 | Aster x frikartii | Monch | Vignettes | 15-Aug | 15-Sep | 3 | GDMBG (SGF) | |
phase 1 | Boltonia asteroides | Jim Crockett | Emblems | 15-Aug | 15-Sep | 5 | GDMBG (SGF) | |
phase 1 | Calamagrostis brachytricha | Vignettes | 21-Aug | 30-Oct | 0.01 | 32 | Stonehouse Nursery | |
phase 1 | Calamintha nepeta | Blue Cloud | Vignettes | 5-Jun | 31-Jul | 0.01 | 32 | Stonehouse Nursery |
phase 1 | Callirhoe digitata | Kitsch | 15-Jun | 1-Aug | 0.00 | 1 | Prairie Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Camassia scilloides | Emblems | 1-May | 15-May | 32 | Pizzo Native Plant Nursery | ||
phase 1 | Carex albicans | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.05 | 150 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Carex blanda | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.05 | 150 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Carex pensylvanica | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.06 | 200 | Greenwood Propagation | |
phase 1 | Carex sprengelii | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.04 | 100 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Carex woodii | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Caryopteris | Sapphire Surf | Structure | 1-Aug | 15-Sep | 0.01 | 8 | Bailey Nurseries |
phase 1 | Caryopteris | Beyond Midnight | Structure | 1-Aug | 15-Sep | 0.01 | 6 | GDMBG (SGF) |
phase 1 | Cleome serrulata | Kitsch | 15-Jul | 10-Sep | 0.00 | 1 | GDMBG (seed) | |
phase 1 | Dalea purpurea | Vignettes | 3-Jul | 31-Jul | 0.01 | 32 | GDMBG (plants) | |
phase 1 | Delphinium tricorne | Emblems | 1-May | 15-May | 0 | Prairie Moon Nursery | ||
phase 1 | Deschampsia caespitosa | Pixie Fountains | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.04 | 128 | Stonehouse Nursery |
phase 1 | Desmanthus illinoensis | Kitsch | 20-Jun | 1-Oct | 0.00 | 1 | KDN/RIF | |
phase 1 | Diarrhena americana | Matrix | 1-Apr | 15-Sep | 0.02 | 76 | Midwest Groundcovers | |
phase 1 | Diervilla | Kodiak Black | Structure | 1-May | 30-Oct | 0.01 | 8 | GDMBG (plants) |
phase 1 | Dodecatheon media | Vignettes | 23-Apr | 21-May | 0.01 | 76 | Pizzo Native Plant Nursery | |
phase 1 | Eragrostis spectabilis | Matrix | 7-Aug | 4-Sep | 0.03 | 70 | Intrinsic Perennial Gardens | |
phase 1 | Eragrostis spectabilis | Matrix | 7-Aug | 4-Sep | 0.02 | 50 | North Creek Nurseries | |
phase 1 | Euphorbia corollata | Vignettes | 7-Aug | 28-Aug | 0.01 | 1 | Prairie Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Galium odoratum | Matrix | 1-Apr | 30-May | 0.02 | 64 | Stonehouse Nursery | |
phase 1 | Geranium maculatum | Espresso | Vignettes | 24-Apr | 26-Jun | 0.01 | 32 | North Creek Nurseries |
phase 1 | Geum triflorum | Matrix | 1-Apr | 1-Jul | 0.02 | 50 | GDMBG (plants) | |
phase 1 | Gillenia trifoliata | Pink Profusion | Vignettes | 1-May | 21-Aug | 0.02 | 32 | North Creek Nurseries |
phase 1 | Glaucium hybrids | Kitsch | 15-Jun | 15-Sep | 0.00 | 1 | Panayoti Kelaidis | |
phase 1 | Helianthus salicifolius | First Light | Vignettes | 1-Sep | 30-Sep | 0.01 | 50 | North Creek Nurseries |
phase 1 | Hypericum kalmianum | Cobalt-N-Gold™ | Structure | 1-May | 30-Oct | 0.01 | 16 | Bailey Nurseries |
phase 1 | Iris (miniature tall bearded) | various | Emblems | 1-May | 15-May | 0.01 | KDN/RIF | |
phase 1 | Iris cristata | Emblems | 1-May | 15-May | 50 | New Moon Nursery | ||
phase 1 | Iris kochii | Emblems | 1-May | 15-May | KDN/RIF | |||
phase 1 | Mentha longiflora | Vignettes | 1-Aug | 30-Sep | 0.01 | 5 | Arrowhead Alpines | |
phase 1 | Molinia caerulea | Moorflamme | Matrix | 1-Jul | 15-Sep | 0.02 | 76 | Midwest Groundcovers |
phase 1 | Monarda bradburiana | Vignettes | 8-May | 5-Jun | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Oenothera | Lemon Drop | Vignettes | 19-Jun | 17-Jul | 0.01 | 5 | GDMBG (SGF) |
phase 1 | Packera plattensis | Vignettes | 17-Apr | 15-May | 0.02 | 1 | Prairie Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Patrinia punctiflora | Vignettes | 7-Aug | 28-Aug | 0.01 | 5 | Opus Plants | |
phase 1 | Penstemon | Pocahontas | Vignettes | 22-May | 19-Jun | 0.02 | 50 | Intrinsic Perennial Gardens |
phase 1 | Penstemon digitalis | Prairie Splendor | Vignettes | 22-May | 19-Jun | 0.02 | 32 | Bluebird Nursery |
phase 1 | Phlox | Opening Act Blush | Vignettes | 15-May | 15-Jun | 5 | GDMBG (SGF) | |
phase 1 | Phlox | Forever Pink | Vignettes | 22-May | 19-Jun | 0.01 | 32 | Stonehouse Nursery |
phase 1 | Phlox divaricata | Blue Moon | Vignettes | 24-Apr | 15-May | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery |
phase 1 | Physocarpus opulifolius | Festivus Gold | Structure | 1-May | 30-Oct | 0.01 | 8 | GDMBG (SGF) |
phase 1 | Polemonium | Heaven Scent | Vignettes | 1-May | 22-May | 0.02 | 72 | Intrinsic Perennial Gardens |
phase 1 | Prunella grandiflora | Vignettes | 29-May | 12-Jun | 0.01 | 32 | Bluebird Nursery | |
phase 1 | Pulmonaria | Shrimps on the Barbie | Vignettes | 15-Apr | 15-Jul | 5 | GDMBG (SGF) | |
phase 1 | Ruellia humilis | Matrix | 10-Jul | 14-Aug | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Salix repens | Bridal Rice | Structure | 1-Apr | 30-Oct | 0.01 | 8 | GDMBG (plants) |
phase 1 | Salvia moorcroftiana x indica | Vignettes | 1-May | 5-Jun | 0.01 | 32 | Bluebird Nursery | |
phase 1 | Salvia verbenaca | Vignettes | 1-Jun | 1-Aug | 3 | Flowers by the Sea | ||
phase 1 | Sanguisorba | Blackthorn | Vignettes | 17-Jul | 7-Aug | 0.01 | 3 | Opus Plants |
phase 1 | Scutellaria incana | Vignettes | 17-Jul | 14-Aug | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Sedum takesimense | Vignettes | 26-Jun | 31-Jul | 0.01 | 20 | KDN/RIF | |
phase 1 | Silene stellata | Vignettes | 26-Jun | 10-Jul | 0.02 | 0 | Pizzo Native Plant Nursery | |
phase 1 | Sisyrinchium angustifolium | Lucerne | Vignettes | 10-May | 12-Jun | 0.01 | 32 | Stonehouse Nursery |
phase 1 | Solidago drummondii | Vignettes | 4-Sep | 16-Oct | 0.01 | 20 | KDN/RIF | |
phase 1 | Solidago odora | Vignettes | 4-Sep | 16-Oct | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | |
phase 1 | Sporobolus heterolepis | Tara | Matrix | 1-Jul | 15-Sep | 0.01 | 36 | Midwest Groundcovers |
phase 1 | Symphyotrichum cordifolium | Snowstorm | Vignettes | 21-Aug | 11-Sep | 0.01 | 8 | KDN/RIF (transplant) |
phase 1 | Symphyotrichum ericoides | Bridal Veil | Vignettes | 21-Aug | 11-Sep | 0.01 | 32 | Stonehouse Nursery |
phase 1 | Symphyotrichum lateriflorum | Prince | Vignettes | 11-Sep | 1-Oct | 0.01 | 5 | Opus Plants |
phase 1 | Thalictrum | Nimbus Pink | Vignettes | 15-May | 1-Jun | 5 | GDMBG (SGF) | |
phase 1 | Tiarella | New Moon Motley | Matrix | 15-Apr | 30-Jun | 0.03 | 100 | New Moon Nursery |
phase 1 | Tiarella | Sylvan Lace | Vignettes | 15-Apr | 30-Jun | 0.01 | 5 | GDMBG (SGF) |
phase 1 | Zizia aurea | Vignettes | 22-May | 12-Jun | 0.03 | 1 | Prairie Moon Nursery | |
phase 2 | Asarum canadensis | Emblems | 0.01 | 30 | Greenwood Propagation | |||
phase 2 | Asclepias exaltata | Vignettes | 0.01 | 38 | Pizzo Native Plant Nursery | |||
phase 2 | Asclepias tuberosa | Blonde Bombshell | Vignettes | 0.01 | Walter's Gardens | |||
phase 2 | Ceanothus americanus | my collected | Vignettes | 0.01 | 3 | GDMBG (plants) | ||
phase 2 | Dianthus knappii | Vignettes | 0.01 | 32 | KDN | |||
phase 2 | Echinacea | Kismet Red | Vignettes | 0.01 | 50 | Terra Nova Nurseries | ||
phase 2 | Erigeron pulchellus | Lynnhaven Carpet | Vignettes | 0.01 | North Creek Nursery | |||
phase 2 | Eurybia | Twilight | Vignettes | 0.01 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | ||
phase 2 | Lamium orvala | Vignettes | 24-Apr | 15-May | 0.01 | 32 | Stonehouse Nursery | |
phase 2 | Liatris ligulistylis | Vignettes | 0.02 | 50 | New Moon Nursery | |||
phase 2 | Millium effusum | Yaffle | Vignettes | 27-Apr | 5-Sep | 0.01 | 5 | Opus Plants |
phase 2 | Oligoneuron album | Vignettes | 19-Jun | 17-Jul | 0.01 | 32 | Taylor Creek Nursery | |
phase 2 | Tradescantia bracteata | Krystal | Vignettes | 22-May | 26-Jun | 0.01 | KDN/RIF (transplant) | |
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