You chose to co-habitate with a backyard wetland- congratulations!
We sympathize with you; drainage areas are troubled with pond scum from runoff and soil wash-out.
As a solution, we raise world-class wildflowers with roots to hold your soil in place and also absorb water pollution. Native flowering shrubs & ornamental grasses also abate stormwater and control erosion. We arrange these natives alongside waterways into formal gardens called Prairie Pondscapes. These ecotype-gardens may comprise or incorporate rain gardens, bioswales, and BMPs. For more difficult situations, we inlay Prairie Pondscapes with geotextiles, riprap or greenspace technologies.
Because we aim to please all, we choose flowers whose blooms attract Monarch and other butterflies, finches, dragonflies, and hummingbirds from Spring thru Autumn.
Why do Wet-Land-Scape designs require minimal maintenance?**
- The plants in our designs are based on your soil-type, so their roots may adapt quickly to control erosion.
- Our designs involve successive planting- a technique resulting in a steady supply of blooms until frost.
Wet-Land-Scapes typically qualify for tax-free breaks.***
Did you know? As an added benefit, dragonflies catch and eat mosquitos.
We encourage you to ask questions about your wetland project, and stay connected to watch us install future designs, including Goldfinch Glade.
Our Butterfly Basin design halted erosion in a sandy Northwest Wichita neighborhood pond. This perennial pondside garden was inlaid with geotextiles to prevent backyard lawns from falling into a 1/3 acre pond. Butterfly Basin features an evergreen border of salvia, and blooms from Spring to Fall. The Monarch butterfly breeds here, and the prominent display is the “pink peak” of obedient flower blossoms- they open at the peak of July to end of summer.
Soil: Moist, Sandy Loam
Erosion Resistance: Very Severe
Raparian Rill designs are modeled on our WATER Center creek located at Herman Hill Park. This rushing crik flows through naturalized grassy glades. Raparian Riff reaches prominence just before the beginning of June with masses of Blanket Flower and clumps of knee-high Indian Grass, plus Curly Watercress & Water Primrose. Raparian Riff is home to wildlife. This stream habitat is curated by Living Waters Aquariums & Ponds.
Please visit Herman Hill Park and enjoy our beloved City of Wichita.
Soil: Dry, Rich Sand
Prairie Fen is designed as ornamental short-grass prairie; it belongs to sunny and rocky pond embankments. Prairie Fen features low borders of prairie dropseed, purple lovegrass and evergreen salvia (for the average open soil between the lawn and the embankment). The embankment features muhly grass and hardy hibiscus among patches of annual flowers, especially golden coreopsis: mid-summer slopes of multicolor blossoms.
Soil: Average, Rocky Loam
Limestone Content: Very High
We recommend annual/semi-annual maintenance on Wet-Land-Scapes. Prevent weeds and trees via mowing or handweeding in Autumn. Ornamental Grasses create interest in Winter- they can be mowed in Spring. We do custom seed mixes- Our popular reseeding wildflower annuals require a once-yearly mowing and bloom yields may improve with a triennial management plan. Every garden-including xeroscapes, requires regular maintenance to establish the plantings. This can be done monthly by a skilled gardener or with seasonal aquatic vegetation management, your landscape will become well-established in only one year.
Technical elements used include: Rain gardens, bioswales, vegetative strips and other BMPs.
*done in accordance to EPA-based County & Stormwater Division regulations.
**Use of fertilizers SHALL BE DILLIGENTLY AVOIDED within 10′ of all pond embankments.
***qualifying labor and plant material is sales-tax exempt in the State of Kansas