Short Stuff Garden Kit
A garden kit is a collection of plants pre-selected by our nursery to meet a certain purpose to make gardening goals easy. Kits can be used as a quick way and economical to start gardening native without having to do as much research. Plants come pre-arranged in a tray so you can plant them just as they are for an instant garden design, with tall plants in the back and short, showy plants in the front. Or, since each plant is labeled with plant name and height, you can arrange them to suit your space.
Many native plants are majestically tall - waving in the breeze, towering over non-native grasses, and providing tier after tier of wildlife resources. However, sometimes less is more. Shorter native plants can provide a rich layer of habitat and beauty without obstructing views, obscuring landscape features, or annoying neighbors who haven't yet seen the light. If you are looking to slip some native plants into the landscape without creating a fuss, here is a collection of plants two feet tall or less.*
*Usually. Every garden is different. Sometimes a plant normally 18" will find a garden that is a nirvana of perfect soil, stimulating competition (or lack thereof), and perfect light and will reach unprecedented proportions. In addition, some grasses have foliage two feet or less, but delicate flower stalks may extend closer to 3', without being very visually prominent. In general though, these are smaller plants.
The Short Stuff Garden Kit is designed for average garden soil and full to part sun. It will contain 2 to 5 of each species. A typical kit would contain the following mix of plants, but one way we keep the per plant costs low on garden kits is by reserving the right to substitute plants based on our current inventory. Your kit is may differ from the list below in exact species, however, the plants included will meet the stated goals of the kit, in this case, a native planting of short plants. If you need specific plants for your garden goals, consider supplementing your garden kit with quarts:
- Rough Blazingstar
- Sundrops
- Wild Petunia
- Prairie Dropseed
- Black-eyed Susan
- Gray Goldenrod
- Hairy Beardtongue
- Hoary Vervain
- Common Violet
- Nodding Wild Onion
- Butterfly Milkweed
- Pussytoes
- Spotted Bee Balm
If substitutions are necessary, they may include Calico Aster, Harebell, Mad Dog Skullcap, Prairie Phlox, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Whorled Milkweed,or others. These plants are also recommended if you wish to expand your Short Stuff collection.
This economical kit includes 38 plant plugs that fill 38 square feet at 1-foot spacing - a 4'x9.5' bed; or up to 86 square feet at 1.5 sq. ft. spacing - a 6'x14' bed. Each kit comes with a planting guide. The plants are individually tagged for identification and all tags include height so you can alter the layout to suit your space. Picture is an example kit of a different type. This kit will differ from the picture.