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• Plant a prairie in your backyard

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Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve »
Address: 109 S. Lake of the Woods Road Mahomet, IL 61853
Phone: (217) 586-6264
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Central Illinois is an intensely bountiful place, streaming with opportunities and life. One can do just about anything desired. If interested in rock climbing, the ARC provides an amazing wall. Considering joining a knitting club? There are loads of them in the CU community. However, should the visual of concrete walks and the smattering of red Solo cups be pushing you to act on the urge to grow something green and native to the area, classes are sprouting up to help you do just that. Take, for example, “Landscaping with Prairie Plants” at the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve where, for a mere $5, attendees are taught how to landscape specifically with prairie plants.

“We want to get the word out on the benefits of gardening with native plants,” said Pam Leiter, Environmental Education and Interpretation Coordinator at Lake of the Woods. “Several of the plants have uses outside of beautifying your land. They can be used in rope making, animal feeding, medicinally and they pollinate the local plants already growing around them.”

When looking at prairie plants, Larry Beckett, Lake of the Woods’s head gardener, said that some “can be harder to maintain than those not originating from the area.” This is because many are “cultivars [hybrids of actual native plants] bred to have specific colors, petal shapes and sizes, and more flower heads.”

Fortunately, Beckett also suggested a number of prairie-specific plants that tend to thrive despite a home grower’s experience.

“Cone flowers, little blue stems and geraniums work well,” said Beckett.

Be sure to grab your old tennis shoes and baseball cap as you embark on your journey to prairie planting!