He also restored a prairie on his property. From early spring to late fall this plot of ground harks back to the tall grass landscapes seen by the pioneers. Rarely seen now they have almost totally been replaced by crops. In our area of southern Minnesota that would be corn and soybeans. Gary has mowed trails here so Lily and I went for our morning walk. It was mid July. Let's take a look....
We see the leaves of a cup plant. Yes, after a rain, the leaves do collect water. This member of the sunflower family can grow quite tall.
Another member of the sunflower family is the compass plant. The leaves orient south and so you can find your way home.... The compass plant too stands tall above its neighbors.
The purple prairie coneflower, often seen in gardens is a true wildflower.
And a few more from Gary's own blog Nature Notes http://fillmorenature.blogspot.com/ Thanks Gary!
Panicle Astor
Many colors of aster brighten the prairie from August till November including these sky blue one and the dark purple New England ones still bright when the first snows come.
Ironweed
Narrow leaf sunflower.
Well that's all for today. Each month brings changes so I'll come back later to see what's blooming. In the meantime I'll check a compass plant to be sure I'm heading home in the right direction...:)
Good for him and you.
ReplyDeleteI love these pretty wildflowers, and the interesting information about them. Glad to know you're oriented in the right direction! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool guy to realize that Mom Nature is the best gardener and to let her have at it. Most people try to bend the landscape to their own version.
ReplyDeleteA gorgeous series of flower shots. I always enjoy Ironweed and the Narrow Leaf Sunflower.
ReplyDeletethe world needs many more Garys.
ReplyDeleteAs a gardener and a save the pollinators ... AWESOME work.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have property that you can do that with! I can imagine this being something that could be done with my Carolina property, but I'm never able to see it. I do know that it is overgrown and very out of shape. My grandparents always kept it so nice.
ReplyDeleteI am desperately trying to create a more natural look in my garden. Guy might like it but I don't think the neighbours are too keen.
ReplyDeletelots of work to get everything going like this
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thing to do. And to watch.
ReplyDeleteThe Packers slowed down a bit so you wouldn't lose the first game in your new stadium. It's not like we have a Viking curse that followed us from the Metrodome. We just didn't want to be spoilers. :)
How wonderful that your friend understands about The value of Native Prairie Plants! Way to go!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Troutbirder, Wow, I enjoyed these photos! Although I live out here on the west coast, I have been interested in the great prairie lands for a long time. Many years ago I saw an article in National Geographic on how they were trying to restore and bring back some of the prairie after so much of it was developed for one thing or another. To me, this is a very worthwhile goal! Congrats to your friend for restoring his property and thanks to you for taking us on this neat photo tour!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wildflower tour. I know nothing about ironweed but the color is gorgeous so I'm about to look it up!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post, Sr T, and thanks for the tip. If the county asks me why my yard looks like it does I have an answer now.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful! I love the prairies.
ReplyDelete