Prairie in the Garden: Mettawa Manor Part II
Let’s continue our visit to Mettawa Manor, the garden of Bill Kurtis and Donna LaPietra. For me, the highlight of the trip was wandering through their 20-acre Tall Grass Prairie.
First thing that hit me: I have never seen so much Liatris (Liatris spicata, I think) in one place in my entire life. It was like a sea of fuzzy purple exclamation points. Other plants in bloom included Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum), some kind of Goldenrod (Solidago), and Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium).
Here’s a video Judy made that captures the birdsong and the plants swaying in the wind.
Bill and Donna started the prairie in 1994 with a controlled burn of undeveloped open fields. There must have been a lot of native prairie plants still in the seed bed because they were soon rewarded by a profusion of wildflowers.
Here’s a close up of some blooms: Liatris, Goldenrod, Culver’s Root.
And in the middle of the prairie, a patio complete with table, chairs, and mosquito netting. A perfect spot for a lazy hour or two of reading.
From the Tall Grass Prairie you can see a three-part mound, built with leftover earth from various construction projects. Each level has a place to sit and take in the surrounding landscape.
Here’s a view of the prairie from the top level. You can see Bill giving a tour in his stretch golf cart.
The Beehive Garden is on the other side of the mound. Here Bill tends three hives that generate about 100 lb. of honey per year.
Nearby, the Potager includes a mix of vegetables and cutting flowers. Cherry tomatoes and pumpkin vines grow up a series of arches.
The Circle Garden is adjacent to the Potager. This garden is full of lavender and a variety of Alliums. A bit austere, but restful.
The Meadow Orchard is also nearby, with a row of espaliered apple trees along its eastern edge.
We’ll conclude here at the Lily Pond. Mettawa Manor has a mix of features, formal and natural, with this pond at the more formal end of the spectrum. Even so, the Water Lilies, Papyrus, and other aquatic plants create a sense of exuberance.
There are a lot of garden elements at Mettawa Manor that didn’t get covered in these two posts. I suppose we will just have to try again after next year’s Open Garden Day.
gardeninacity 
At my best I think I grew five liatris (and was so happy)—imagine a whole field. What a cool place!
I’ve never done well with Liatris.
This garden seems to have the perfect balance of formal and wild. I love seeing all that liatris exclaiming that it is so good to be alive in the meadow. What does a person do with 100#s of honey? Merry Christmas to all on their holiday list.
Probably. They know a lot of people.
A field of liatris ranks right up there with a field full of lupines. Somehow, fields full of flowers are irresistible.
Very true!
Ah, this is my dream garden that I will probably never have. All those large spaces so beautifully used, from the meadow to the potager. Thanks for sharing, Jason!
Judy and I felt the same way. Our plan is to get the owners either to hire us as live-in gardeners or adopt us.
The prairie/meadow is astounding. Surprising to see the Liatris so much taller than the Culver’s root (which is also notable for its clean white blooms; some wild stands have a fleshy-pink tinge).
You can find pink or blue cultivars of Culver’s Root at some garden centers but never the straight species white. The Culver’s Root in this prairie did seem to grow on the short side, I wonder why.
It’s great to see the liatrus where it really belongs.
It does look that way, doesn’t it?
Well now, that is really special, isn’t it? Wow, the prairie full of LIatris, etc., looks like heaven. I love their potager, too!
The potager probably had as many cutting flowers as vegetables, so it was very colorful.
Looks beautiful–and very peaceful. Thanks for sharing.
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You’re welcome!
tee hee, fuzzy exclamation points. I planted my very first this year. They are not doing so well because they went in just before the weather turned warm. That does not happen very often, but it happened for us.
Can they do well in California? I don’t recall ever seeing any on our trips to the Bay Area and LA.
Lovely to see a field full of Llatris and I was interested to read they started with controlled burning of the field. It always fascinates me that healthy colourful plants arise after fires.
This is particularly true of the North American prairie. I wonder if it is true of other grasslands.
Beautiful! beautiful! Would love to sit in that meadow with a book!
Wish we had brought something to read!
I’m curious about what grass(es) form the basic matrix of the Liatris prairie.
I’m not sure. In some areas there was Switchgrass and little clumps of Big Bluestem. Then there were some shorter grasses I didn’t recognize. I’ll email the owners and see if they respond.
What a gorgeous, peaceful place! I’ve been wanting to get some arbors incorporated into the vegetable garden for ramblers – I love how the bean “tower” creates a focal point at the end.
Yeah, I’d like some new arbors also, The one I have is kind of flimsy.
I love the purple and yellow combination of flowers in your first few pictures. It’s a really pretty garden. I would love to have a Potager like that one, but it wouldn’t look right in our garden. Too bad. Thanks for sharing such a lovely place.
You’re welcome. I agree about the potager, I like it but it wouldn’t fit in our garden.
I love the potager, circle garden, and espaliered apple trees! Although my garden is anything but formal, I must admit that some formal gardens are quite attractive and I’d probably give it a try if the setting was right!
Yes, sometimes I see a formal garden I really like and I have the urge to go home and rip everything out and start over. The urge passes, though.
I did enjoy this, such variety, formal and wild. The highlight for me was the liatris swaying in the wind, what a fantastic sight! Loved that video.xxx
The Liatris was amazing!