Slide 1

PRAIRIEIowas original landscape

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Prairie a sea of grass. Iowa in 1800.

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Settlersarrive

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Pioneers turned the prairie into tamer land

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Threshing time

Threshing time

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30 million acres of Iowa prairie in 1840. Less than 10,000 acres today.

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Today prairies constricted in odd corners

Today prairies constricted in odd corners

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Railroad rights of way is another prairie refuge.

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Rare state preserves

Rare state preserves saved a little prairie too.

Pictured here: Hayden Prairie near Lime Springs.9

Pasque flowers signal spring on the prairie

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Pioneers called pasque flower the Easter crocus.

Very hard to grow!

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Pasque Flower seedheads

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Birdsfoot violet

Birdsfoot violet also stubborn

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Hoary puccoon

These early blooming prairie plants are all very fickle about their surroundings

Makes red dye

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Prairie smoke plant

Needs wet soils to thrive

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Prairie smoke flower

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Prairie Smoke plumes Grandpas whiskers

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Prairie smoke smoke

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Shooting star plant

Needs space in wetter ground

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Shooting star (prairie pointers)

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Shooting stars on Hayden Prairie

Shooting stars on Hayden Prairie

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Wood betony with shooting stars

Wood betony, or lousewort, will grow in open woods too

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Wood betony blooms

Wood betony blooms

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Smooth green snake

Smooth green snake is a prairie surprise.

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Columbine is also called rock bells.

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Columbine likes limestone

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Wood sorrel

Plant around high dry limestone

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Cream-colored indigo

Weak blue dye for jeans from roots

Conservative

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Canada anemone

Canada anemone nice and easy to grow

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Yellow ladyslipper

Rare and practically impossible to establish away from natural haunts

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Yellow ladyslippers

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Prairie phlox

A pioneer favorite

Great though slow to establish in drier ground

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Prairie phlox bouquet

Prairie phlox bouquet

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Spiderwort

Look for these lovely plants in wetter prairie areas.

Cant take crowding

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Spiderwort legs

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Golden Alexander

Easy to grow in plantings but not often added

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Golden Alexander is NOT wild parsnip

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Pale purple coneflower field

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Pale purple coneflower petals droop down

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Pale purple coneflower makes a nice planting

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Meadowlark nest

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Meadowlarks have that signature black V-bib on a lemon-yellow tummy.

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Male bobolinks often sing on the wing

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My grandpa called them skunk birds for those bold black and white colors

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Song sparrow nest

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Song sparrows sing a very melodious song

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Ring-necked pheasant nest

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Ring-necked pheasant hen sitting on her eggs.

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Ring-necked pheasant roosters are gorgeous gamebirds

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With luck, a ring-necked rooster pheasant may be flushed from tight cover

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Prairie chickens were Iowas original gamebirds but disappeared when the prairie was plowed.

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Prairie chickens had a haunting boom call.

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Swamp saxifrage grows in boggy ground

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Blue flag grows in standing water

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Blue flag or wild iris flower

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Marsh phlox

Not to be confused with Dames Rocketan invasive phlox doppelganger that grows in wet ditches.56

Marsh phlox

Marsh phlox grows grudgingly in wet areas

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Meadow rue

Relatively easy to establish in wetter soils

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Meadow rue is Maid of the Mist

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Wild rose Iowas state flower

Takes time to show up in a prairie planting

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Wild rose habitat

Wild rose habitat

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Four wild rose hips have more vitamin C than an orange.

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Black-eyed Susan

A good flower for prairie plantings since they bloom the second year and add quick color

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Wood lily

Prized by the pioneers

Probably not possible to grow

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Wood lilies grow low to the ground only about a foot tall.

Found in wet swales.

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Wood lily chalice

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Wood lily hunting ground with wild quinine

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Wild quinine plant usually successful in plantings

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Wild quinine can be used to treat high fevers

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White wild indigo

Roots can be treated to make a weak blue dye.

Easy to grow and adds interest to prairie plantings

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White wild indigo rattle pods sound like a rattlesnake when shaken

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St. Johns wort could maybe help relieve mild depression

A fugitive plant.

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New Jersey tea steeped leaves make a good green tea

Tough to grow though

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Ox-eye is a very hardy prairie plant and good for a colorful prairie yard garden

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Ox-eye flower

Ox-eye flower

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Unplowed prairie land is loaded with flowers by summer

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Common milkweed another easy to grow and great for butterfly prairie plant.

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Great-spangled fritillary on milkweed

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Monarch butterfly on sunflower- their caterpillars only eat milkweed leaves.

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Swamp milkweed habitatSwamp milkweed habitat

Swamp milkweed habitat

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Honeybee on swamp milkweed

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Eyed brown captured by crab spider on swamp milkweed

Difficult to keep around

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Swamp milkweed seedpods breaking open

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Butterfly milkweed has bright orange flowers.

A super flower for plantings but tends to wink out over time.

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Butterfly milkweed

This plant catches the attention of people and butterflies passing by

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Butterfly milkweed & monarch

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Butterfly milkweed

Butterfly milkweed found mostly on dry goat prairies around here.

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Green milkweed

Rare on native prairies.A dozen different milkweed species in Iowa.

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Western prairie white-fringed orchid

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Western prairie white-fringed orchid petals may lay dormant for a decade.

Federally threatened.

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Ground plums

Common in prehistory but would take real dedication on dry ground to grow now

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Michigan lily

Grows to five feet tall.

Needs wetter soils but will colonize

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Michigan lily

Also called martagon, since those petals curl back like the fancy Turkish cap.

Otherwise resembles the garden tiger lily.

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Culvers root

Nice white spires and easy to grow.

A natural laxative

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Rattlesnake master is easy to grow and looks cool, like a Midwest cactus.

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Rattlesnake master flowers

Rattlesnake master flowers

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Long-horned grasshopper(a.k.a. katydid) on rattlesnake master

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Leadplant

A fertilizing legume that takes a very long time to show up but is very long lasting.

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Leadplant flower

Leadplant flower seeds need scarification

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Leadplant

Leadplant & limestone

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Compass plant a good choice for some height in the yard prairie garden.

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Compass plant leaves point north

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Compass plant flowers

Compass plant flowers look like sunflowers

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Compass plant sap makes a super chewing gum.

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Wild onion

Tastes great and not tough to grow if given plenty of open spaces.

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Gray-headed coneflower a durable prairie plant with a long blooming period, growing about waist-high.

Sleepy Susans

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Gray-headed coneflower

Gray-headed coneflowers have a long blooming season

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Prairie blazing star a beautiful addition to man-made prairies but can be difficult to grow good.

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Prairie blazing star

Prairie blazing stars are one of several similar species

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Meadow blazing star and prairie cordgrass

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Meadow blazing star

Meadow blazing star and monarch

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Rough blazing star

Rough blazing star

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Wild bergamot easy to grow, not-too tall, smells like mint and makes strong tea whats not to like.

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Wild bergamot

Wild bergamot also called horsemint or bee balm.

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Joe Pye weed

Joe Pye weed likes water

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Boneset likes to grow around Joe Pye weed.

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Boneset good choice for a rain garden.

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Goldenrods farewell to summer

Goldenrods farewell to summer

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Elm-leaved goldenrod leave in the ditch.

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Stiff goldenrod

Stiff goldenrod good for the garden

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Grays goldenrod

Also known as dyers weed and flowers make a lemon-yellow dye.

Needs dry sterile soils to compete.

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Sawtooth sunflowers super easy to grow and spread.

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Sawtooth sunflower flower makes a rich yellow dye.

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Cup plant

Cup plant very tall and aggressive.

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Cup plant flowers

Cup plant flowers

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Cup plant cup

Cup plant cup

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New England aster - nice

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Blue bottle gentian would be great if it grows.

Needs swampy ground.

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Blue bottle gentian blooms late, right up to first frost.

Truly bright sky blue

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Cream gentian

Theeasiest gentian to grow. Tolerates many soil types.

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Downy gentian enjoy on prairie preserves

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Fringed gentian on fen

Very fickle and needs welling fen conditions to survive.

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Fringed gentian buds and sulfer butterfly

Most fens have been drained today.

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Fringed gentian blooms

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Turtlehead another rare fen specialist

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Turtlehead flowers look like turtle heads

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Baltimore checkerspot their caterpillars can only eat turtlehead leaves

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Nodding ladies tresses visit fens in fall

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Purple fringed orchid

Again, requires wet, swaling fen seeps to survive.

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Purple fringed orchid flower

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Prairie grasses shine in September

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Porcupine grass seed quills

Porcupine grass seed quills.This plant seeds in July.

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Porcupine grass seed screws driving down into the dirt

Needs dry sandy soils to survive.

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Sideoats gramma a very delicate grass that likes dry ground and little stress.

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Northern (prairie) dropseed fantastic but very fussy.

Prefers heavy clay soil.

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Indiangrass

Indiangrass is tall and showy.

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Indiangrassseedhead very nice but at least head high and can be aggressive.

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Little bluestembunches

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Little bluestem seedtufts plant a ton of this stuff.

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Big bluestem

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Big bluestem stalks the standard-bearer for typical tall-grass prairie.

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Big bluestem turkeyfoot seedheads

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Big bluestem stands out at sunset

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Prairie cordgrass seedheads

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Prairie cordgrassgolden color almost impossible to grow. Great for folks who want a challenge.

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Prairie color in autumn

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Prairie diversity makes a pretty scene to stroll through

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Colors fade to duller shades through the fall

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Brown grass stems dominate by November

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Ant mound old ones are great for hibernating green snakes.

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Winter winds dry out dead grass stands

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Spring storms set the prairie on fire

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Prairie fire at sunset

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After the fire the land has been fed

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Pasque flower starts the cycle over again.

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