What a beautiful week to follow the prairie. Three weeks ago, this was black and lifeless after the controlled burn that was done – now it is bursting with beauty. I have seen several types of flowers blooming now that the weather has warmed, including these Lousewort flowers,  also called Wood Betony. These are interesting plants as they are partly parasitic, they attach their roots to the roots of other plants to steal extra nutrients for themselves!  These are located in one area of the central part of the prairie retirement along the bike trail near Cumming, IA.

Here is a very nice orange flower with some history of being used as dyes. The flowers are very noticeable because they are a striking orange. These have just started to bloom, and are located in isolated spots throughout the prairie.

This is our native Blue Eyed Grass. This is a common landscape plant, but this native variety is much smaller, and light blue instead of dark blue like you can find at garden centers. These can be found in several parts of the northern part of the prairie. The flowers are only open during sunny days.

Here is yet another flower in bloom on the prairie, and it is found throughout, but especially on the northern side of the prairie. It is very easy to tell that this patch of land is rich in diversity of the several different species of plants I am learning about – I’ve learned a new flower nearly every day at this rate! As for this prairie, a slow restoration through repeated burns and preservation is being planned, and it will be brought back to its full glory and be kept under county protection for years to come.