Tall Bluestem grass

 

After the evening's constitutional, Whip likes to also do 'patrol' where we walk around the house as she sniffs to see what might be about.  It's quite dark but when we walked past Mjolnir the outside motion detector sets off a light under the eave so we can see a little bit.   There was a taller than normal grass silhouetted by the light each night and I wondered what it was. Finally I noticed the solar light at it's base.  Of course.  This is the big bluestem grass that I planted last year.  (I often put a solar light next to something I plant in my wildflower area.)    I'd looked for it a few times earlier in the year but hadn't noticed anything so thought it hadn't taken.  I just hadn't removed the solar light.  This morning I pulled the goldenrod around the bluestem.  That will not only give it room for the parent grass to spread but disturb the ground so it's seeds will have a better chance of finding fertile soil.  I've tried before to plant bluestem elsewhere in the meadow.  It's a native grass that is drought tolerant, adapted to fire, and a host to many varieties of skipper butterflies.  With any luck I might be able to get a large stand of it established.