The Oudolf Garden Detroit Grounds Crew is working with Piet Oudolf, InSite Design Studio and Natural Community Services to restore and beautify the Meadows—the low lying portion of the garden site that hugs the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon. The Meadows project seeks to rehabilitate the areas adjacent to Lake Tacoma with flowering plants, sedges and rushes well-suited to the terrain. The team is studying the unique lakeplain prairie habitats that originally thrived in coastal southeast Michigan. The western portion of the site also includes a delineated wetland that will remain in its natural state.
Project Timeline
Autumn 2021—perform plant inventory and site survey, mapping hydrological zones; begin control of invasive species (exotic cool-season grasses and phragmites)
Winter 2021-22—first seeding of sedge and rush matrix species
Spring/Summer 2022—germination and begin to establish sedge and rush matrix; observe water levels, continue mapping hydrology
Autumn 2022—ongoing control of invasive species (exotic cool-season grasses and phragmites)
Summer and Autumn 2023—ongoing control of invasive species
February 2024—removal of European poplars, an invasive species
April 2024—proposed construction of east meadow boardwalk
