Corner Strip

146 sq ft · full sun · well drained, leaner soil · FACU to FAC · Oak Savanna / Prairie Forb (CEGL005003) · 26 plants

The front end of the wraparound bed and the best lean-soil prairie spot on the property. It connects directly to Bed 6, which runs to Bed 8 in the backyard on the other side of the fence. Prairie dropseed flops in Bed 1 but stands upright and fragrant here.

Upper terrace: woodland phlox 'May Breeze' (Phlox divaricata 'May Breeze'), purple coneflower 'Powwow Wild Berry' (Echinacea purpurea 'Powwow Wild Berry'), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), blue-eyed grass 'Lucerne' (Sisyrinchium angustifolium 'Lucerne'), eastern prickly pear (Opuntia cespitosa), harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).

Lower strip: Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), royal catchfly (Silene regia), showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea), prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), wild petunia (Ruellia humilis), lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), late purple aster (Symphyotrichum patens), purple coneflower 'Prairie Splendor' (Echinacea purpurea 'Prairie Splendor'), garden phlox 'Laura' (Phlox paniculata 'Laura'), wild bergamot 'Claire Grace' (Monarda 'Claire Grace'), dwarf blazing star 'Kobold' (Liatris spicata 'Kobold'), sky blue aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), meadow phlox (Phlox maculata, moved from Bed 8 in September).

Not Ohio native: dwarf blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis var. minor, US native), New York aster 'Wood's Purple' (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii 'Wood's Purple', US native, failing), beardtongue 'Midnight Masquerade' (Penstemon, hybrid), catmint 'Cat's Pajamas' (Nepeta, hybrid), woodland sage 'Marcus' (Salvia nemorosa, non-native, planted September 19).

Out in 2026: tall larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum, lost).

2026: Harebell bloomed all season on the terrace. 'Powwow Wild Berry' and 'Prairie Splendor' both rebloomed well. 'Laura' rebloomed after cutback and was open August 30. Royal catchfly opened in mid-August. 'Wood's Purple' collapsed in September, still blooming but with no green foliage, and will be replaced. Lace bug, mites or crown rot are the likely causes, so the crown gets sliced open before replanting.

Next: blue sage (Salvia azurea), still wanted. A compact purple aster to replace 'Wood's Purple' (option: aromatic aster 'October Skies', Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). Prairie dropseed arrives from Bed 1. Direction for the open slope, nothing committed: purple prairie clover massed down the slope, woodland phlox at the top, meadow phlox at the base. Options: wild hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) on a retaining-wall terrace at the base of the steep slope.