Advanced Care
Prairie Landscaping

Pet Hospital Turns to Prairie Landscaping
To Save Water and Electricity While
Promoting Green Space

We are approaching 7 months of being open in Sartell, and we are rapidly seeing signs of our praire planting from Prairie Restorations. The photo below is just one of those signs.

Well yes, it is a real sign, but we're seeing real seedlings also!

As of June 6th 2010, the seedlings have been rising up after the extensive rains we have experienced recently.




Prairie Mixture for the Sartell Area
We learned in our planning that different regions of the state typically have different mixtures and combinations of grasses and wild flowers. In our instance the following mixtures were recommended by Prairie Restoration.

The lists show the names of the plants used, however I didn't include the percentages by volume which are in highest to lowest order.


Grasses for perimeters

Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis)    0.5
June grass (Koeleria macrantha)    0.5


Prairie Area Grass Mix, (Short Dry Mix)
Little bluestem
Side oats grama
Blue grama
June grass
Kalm’s brome
Poverty oats
       

Wildflowers, (Short Dry Mix)
    Purple prairie clover
    Hoary vervain
    Black-eyed Susan
    Leadplant
    White prairie clover
    Stiff tickseed
    Upland goldenrod
    Bush clover
    Gray goldenrod
    Golden Alexander
    Heath aster
    Azure aster
    Wild bergamot
    Showy penstemon
    Yarrow
    Fragrant giant hyssop
    Stiff goldenrod,
    Showy goldenrod
    Common milkweed
    Dotted blazing star
    Prairie rose
.

We are rather pleased that the Horned Larks which were evident on this land prior to construction are still very much present.

If that isn't exciting enough, on June 12th about 3:00 in the afternoon we had a coyote howling across Scout Drive on one of the black dirt piles when apparently it found it's den was threatened.

Onlookers outside our door were amazed at how long the coyote stood its ground vocalizing it's discontent.

So agate hunters may wish to heed Ferche's no trespassing signs posted earlier this year for youand your pet's protection.

You would never know from this photo that there's a busy highway between the photographer and the barn which is located across from CentraCare


Prairie Restoration in Sartell and St. Cloud

At Advanced Care Pet Hospital we chose to create a prairie environment for our landscape.  I have always been an advocate for the environment and preserving as much diversity as we can.

When I first saw the lot at 911 Scout Drive, there was no other choice.  As I walked into the center area of the lot a Horned Lark burst out from a weed patch and ran a short distance out in front of me.




Horned Lark


It stopped, turned and looked at me, then repeated its running step off in another direction.  I looked down and saw its nest of twigs on the ground and three tiny eggs resting in the middle.

My goal from the start was to create a habitat where there would be a possibility for this lark, or others, to return next year and build another nest.

Today, less than one percent of Minnesota's native prairie remains.  Fortunately, prairie restoration projects have increased in public and commercial properties and are helping to create slivers of suburban  Prairie.

As we build on the land we encroach on the former inhabitants.

Dr. Gerds has frequently helped nurse back wounded wild life.  That is her pictured to the left caring for a Wood Duck who lost it's mother.

Two years ago we released a Yellow Shafted Flicker near our pond which came into the hospital hurt. It flew up to the tree next to the pond and sat in the tree for quite awhile. It may be coincidence, but this year, a flicker used our wood duck nesting box located 50 feet from that tree and hatched a brood of 7 new flickers.







We also maintain several bluebird houses located around our homestead.





Great examples of this can be seen at City of Sartell City Hall, CentraCare and the Elk River Library.


Visit Prairie Restorations at:  www.prairieresto.com

See a DNR map of the remaining prairie in MN: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/mcbs/prairie_map.pdf


Black-Eyed Susan at Sartell City Hall, August 2009






Pasque Flowers, Glendalough State Park 2008






A Rain Garden at the Elk River Library




Looking for Pasque Flowers around Easter (April 2008) at Glendalough State Park.



Sartell's Rural Heritage at the edge of the prairie

Fasen Round Barn, Sartell MN July, 2009

Fasen Round Barn Site in Sartell Late August 2009, just beyond the Advanced Care Pet Hospital Site on Scout Drive, Sartell Minnesota. The Horned Lark was spotted just left of this photo.

Fasen Round Barn Site in Sartell Late August 2009