Hello to all!!

Even though we are not onsite to work on our landscape gardens, woodlands and prairies, nature seems to be quite happy to just “keep on keepin’ on” without us. That said, I was able to walk around and take some pictures. Unfortunately, I am not fast enough to catch the family of deer that Eddie caught, or the fast little toad that surprised me and bounced away laughing.

So, here we go…enjoy!

Note: click on a slide to see a larger image with the complete caption.

A special shout out to bunchflower (Melanthium virginicum). The majority of our bunchflower was in the north prairie, right in line with the MSD project. James, Adam and others rescued as many as they could and relocated the plants to other areas of both the north and south prairies. This picture is the first relocated plant I found…more to come, I’m sure. Good job!

Bunch Flower (Melanthium virginicum) prefers consistently rich, moist soil conditions and full sun or dappled shade. It can take many years for this plant to mature, especially if started from seed, but when it does, it is spectacular! The thick stems can bring it to heights of 5′. It’s not a very well-known native yet, but we think it makes a stunning addition to a garden or formal planting with its large clusters of flowers in June and July. The flowers are white to cream in color, but as the weeks pass the flowers turn green then maroon and finally blackish in color adding fall interest to your garden or prairie.
—Prairie Moon Nursery

Well, that’s it for now. We are all getting pretty antsy to return and continue our mission to further educational and ecological excellence. Bob is working with the Garden to bring ALL of us back safely. Thanks to all of you for the wonderful comments and concerns.