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Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Weed It’s easy to see where the name for this plant comes from. Watch it for a few minutes and some butterflies will probably show up. In addition to offering nectar, the...
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Spiderwort
Spiderwort This wildflower blooms for an unusually long time, from from late May into early July at the Prairie Garden Trust (PGT). Spiderwort is a good choice for naturalized areas, meadows or open...
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Chinkapin Oak
Chinkapin Oak by Hillers Creek This picture was taken along the path just above Pawpaw path by Hillers Creek. The contrast between the background and foreground helps this image “sing”. The trees in...
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Grey-headed Coneflower
Grey-headed-Coneflower This prairie wildflower is starting to flower now and will continue to bloom through August. This is the most common coneflower at the Prairie Garden Trust (PGT).
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American Lotus
American Lotus The flower is glowing because the petals are backlit. The dark background increases the contrast and makes the image “pop”. You can find these blooming in the Lotus Ponds, just a...
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Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly
Prairie wildflowers are a good place to find butterflies. This swallowtail is sipping nectar on Prairie Blazing Star. They are just starting to bloom now along the trails along the edge of Indigo...
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Morning Fog on Farm Pond
Potter’s Lake Walking at sunrise is a great way to beat the heat. Early morning is also the best time for magical light and for fog, like you can see here over Potter’s Lake. The Prairie Garden Trust...
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Compass Plant
Few prairie plants stand out more than the Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum). With a flower stalk that reaches above 8-feet, it is nearly impossible to miss. In full sun, the leaves turn their edges...
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Preventing Tick Bites
Ticks are an annoying part of nature walks. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid bites. Using permethrin treated clothing and tucked-in-pants I’ve not had a single tick bite in over a decade, and I’m out...
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Monarch Butterfly
On the PGT Butterfly Walk last weekend we saw 10 Monarchs. All together, we identified 23 different kinds of butterflies: Black Swallowtail 7 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 2 Giant Swallowtail 10 Pipevine...
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History of the Prairie Garden Trust
Polished Coral Reef Fossil 400 million years ago – The PGT was at the edge of the sea and contained a huge coral reef. Today a 200-foot slab of fossilized coral reef lays exposed in Hiller’s Creek. The...
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Christmas Fern
Polystichum acrostichoides Some people think the leaflets on this fern resemble Christmas stockings or a winter sleigh; hence it’s name. More likely is that it’s one of the few woodland plants still...
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Pond Grass
Sunlight falling on this patch of grass reveals a pleasing mix of pastel colors. I came across this on a morning walk going past one of the ponds at the PGT.
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Boneset
This 3-foot tall wildflower is also known as Feverwort because Native Americans used them to treat fevers that made one’s bones ache. The white flat-topped flower clusters of Boneset can be seen...
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Monarch Butterfly
Monarch Butterfly The last few weeks I’ve been seeing more Monarchs at the PGT. This is the time of year when millions of monarchs migrate south to spend the winter in the mountains of Mexico.
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Maximilian Sunflower
Thick clusters of showy yellow flowers have begun to appear on the Maximilian Sunflowers this week. These wildflowers have tall stalks which tower over the surrounding plants.
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Cloud of Monarchs
Monarchs on New England Aster I’ve been seeing a lot of Monarch butterflies the past couple weeks. This must be the peak of fall migration. I found a group is feeding on New England Aster along one of...
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Purple Coneflower
Getting in very close helps reveal the spiral pattern of the flowerhead. There are still a few coneflowers blooming, but now that Fall is here they won’t last much longer. You can find these along the...
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Dogwood Leaves
Dogwood Leaves The leaves on the Flowering Dogwood are starting to show some fall color. It’s still too early to say how good the color will be in our big trees, the oaks and hickories. It’s always...
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Tree Trunk Reflection
Hiller’s Creek Warm morning light in a stand of trees reflected off the calm water at Hiller’s Creek.
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