Events

3131 Norman Dr., Sioux City, IA 51104
Rex was raised in Sloan, Iowa, a Missouri River floodplain farming community. As a child, he was always interested in the hills visible across the valley.
The Rex & Maria’s home is situated in the Loess Hills on the “Northside” of Sioux City, where they moved in August 1993. The home is built on a hill with the front door at street level. There is a triple-terraced yard in the back, and the lowest level abuts a powerline easement (no alley). This area was full of volunteer trees, shrubs, and a big weed patch. Rex cleared that space in the first couple of years that they lived there.
Early attempts to reintroduce “prairie” to the yard began with tilling up the weeds and drilling some prairie grass seed (Little Bluestem, Side-oats Grama) in the lowest terrace. These seeds did not “take well,” due to inconsistent moisture. A few of the “side-oats” sprouted and remain, however.
Through the encouragement of the Loess Hills Chapter of Wild Ones, I obtained my first tray of native plants in May 2019 and got my first prairie garden started. There have been a lot of failures and a few successes in this process. But through it all I have learned year by year and have adjusted my methods.
I have four main gardens of prairie plants now, plus 3-4 mini-gardens. The top two gardens are easy to reach. The others in back have steps and steep slopes. Currently, I have no handrails there. I do not recommend these areas for people with balance issues or trouble climbing steep, uneven grassy areas. Enjoy the gardens and some refreshments at this stop. Hosts: Rex and Maria Rundquist

Dave Raymond’s Garden Walk
2701 41st St., Sioux City, IA 51104
My native plant journey began in fall 2022, three years after we moved into this house. I had become frustrated with trying to maintain a traditional grass lawn in compacted clay soil without an irrigation system. I realized that I was wasting my time and money trying to keep grass alive on life support (water and chemicals) and that the traditional lawn serves no purpose other than to impress the neighbors and alienate nature.
I wanted a yard that is not just a big green carpet, that attracts, feeds, and shelters birds, butterflies, and other creatures and that does not pollute or poison the land and animals. I needed plants which had evolved to live in this region, with this climate, soil, and animals.
I made my first garden bed in the back yard and added some perennial “nativars” from the big box garden centers. I saw a Facebook post about the Wild Ones Fall Plant Sale and picked out a couple of goldenrods, blazing stars, and little bluestem. I remember thinking that my parents would have thought I was crazy to buy “weeds” to plant in a flower bed.
I bought more plants at the 2023 Spring and Fall Wild Ones plant sales. In 2024 I became a Wild Ones member and received a grant of plants at the Spring Plant Sale. Native plants became my new hobby. I enjoy learning about them through books, videos, websites, and organizations like Wild Ones. My yard is on the map with Homegrown National Park and is certified with National Wildlife Federation.
Since adding native plants, we see larger numbers and varieties of birds, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, beetles, flies, spiders, frogs, and toads. A few native plants have shown up in my yard on their own. Last winter I was able to supply many varieties of seeds for the seed library.
My yard is still very much a work in progress, but I hope that people will see some beauty in it and want to add at least some native plants to their own yards. I would love to see the City of Sioux City support native plantings. Host: Dave Raymond