Appreciation post: that empty lot turned into a wildflower spot near the creek

There's this lot by the creek behind the old gas station that's been bare dirt as long as I can remember. About two months ago the city piled some mulch and dumped a seed mix there after a storm drain project... I walked past it yesterday and it's full of purple coneflowers and black-eyed Susans. It's wild what a little soil and time can do, I used to just see a waste of space. Has anyone else seen a random spot near them bloom out of nowhere like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jessica25d ago

Fully agree, I used to roll my eyes at these spots but they grow on you.

michael_coleman1026d ago

You said "it's wild what a little soil and time can do" but I gotta disagree. That lot was EMPTY for a reason. Those wildflowers are just weeds that grow anywhere nobody mows. The city basically dumped a bunch of invasive seeds so they could say they "did something" but it's not like they actually planned it. Give it a year and those flowers will be dead and you'll be looking at thistles and poison ivy instead. Then the city will have to pay to rip it all out because someone complains it looks messy next to the gas station. It's just a temporary fix that'll cost MORE money in the long run when they have to haul all that overgrowth away.

adamthompson26d ago

My buddy tried the same thing in his backyard, seeded it with a "native pollinator mix" from the hardware store. Six months later he was fighting ragweed taller than his truck.