Always something new

It's fall in the prairie, but that doesn't mean we're done looking at new flowers. In fact, we appear to just be starting with many. Yes, the grasses are holding sway, but fresh blooms are opening everywhere.

Goldenrod is new. From reading my seed list, I know I can look for three different kinds. Curiously, the Goldenrod I found does not match the images of any of those on my list. This one is Tall Goldenrod. I'll keep looking for the ones I seeded into the prairie and enjoy this native plant that came on its own.

Almost everyone who sees Goldenrod comments that now we'll have allergies. Poor Goldenrod. It gets a bad rap. From what I've read, seasonal allergies are caused by ragweed.

Blue Vervain is also new. The plant is only about two feet tall. But the book says it will grow to six feet. Next year.

Cup Plant. I've been seeing these plants develop and mistakenly identified them as Compass Plants. But it's definitely a Cup Plant. I'm told the Native Americans used the leaves as a cup to drink water - hence the name.

Unlike domestic garden plants that flower during a relatively narrow window each year, not all prairie plants appear to bloom on such a rigid schedule. Cup Plants, for instance, bloom summer through fall. This plant only emerged in mid-summer and began blooming a couple of weeks ago.

I joined some friends for a walk at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge prairie this past weekend. Based on what I saw there, I can tell we're not done yet. My prairie will be giving me something new to look at for weeks to come.

Even when it's a mess

September 1, another month past in my prairie restoration. The battle against crab grass is lost. In some areas, the seed heads are knee deep. It is quite the mess.

During August, I sought to photograph and identify each new plant I spotted. Most of them were weeds: woolly cupgrass, foxtail, lambsquarter. The partridge peas have been a ray of sunshine. They grow throughout the prairie; the one plant I actually planted in my new space that made it to bloom.

As I've said before, the prairie has caused me to slow down and look close. And this past month, I've looked both close and more widely around our property, identifying prairie plants that exist with no input from me whatsoever. A massive goldenrod dominates a patch of blackeyed susans, a smattering of Greater Lobelia came out of nowhere in an area east of the prairie that turned into a wetland with all the summer rains.

The wetland area is a tangled messy mass of grasses and weeds. But the Greater Lobelia stand out, a beautiful, delicate blue. I can't help but think that's the message of the prairie to me this month. Even though things look like a mess, when I have patience, maybe even when I just leave things alone, something beautiful will come through.