Revealing Big Trees
They’re gems in the woods—big trees resting hidden by scores of skinny ones. Our goal is to strip away the younger plants and reveal those awe-inspiring oaks and others and … Continued
Strawberry Bush Surprise
Seeing a new, colorful plant appear—especially when it’s a native one—adds a happy surprise to an everyday walk. Although I’m sure we’ve passed the small plant for a year or … Continued
PGT Treehouse Comes Tumbling Down
A few years ago, a group of friends started building a treehouse overlooking our lotus ponds. Last year, the big old red oak that held a key part of it … Continued
Poisonous mushrooms popping up?
Masses of red mushrooms popped on the needle-carpeted ground under our 27-year old white pine tree planting. (Not native trees, I know, but we did it so I could have … Continued
Colorful Painted Turtle at PGT
As we walked around the very water-laden lotus ponds yesterday, Henry noticed this incredible western painted turtle on the path. On one side it’s just a smooth brown shell, but … Continued
Building a Strong Foundation for a Nature Garden
We had great news last week that the Prairie Garden Trust (Prairie Gardens Charitable Foundation), was approved as a 501 (c)3, tax-exempt organization. The Board is composed of myself (Lorna … Continued
Late summer blooms at the Prairie Garden Trust
Golden flowers suddenly popped up all over in the past week—especially in the prairie planting that’s just two years old. Tall coreopsis (coreopsis tripteris) is especially abundant this year—whether it’s … Continued
New Native Plants in Special Places
A few months ago, Henry, Matt Barnes (our groundskeeper) and I drove around with Merv Wallace (owner of Missouri Wildlflowers Nursery) to identify some spots that could use an extra … Continued
Henry Domke up in the air
A helicopter picked Henry up at the PGT today and flew him around for about an hour so he could take aerial photos of our paths, ponds, fields and forests. … Continued
Covered with Hog Peanut
Earlier this summer we found our creek bottom field absolutely covered in a vining, twining, sprawling leafy plant. The first horrible thought was Kudzu, that invasive nightmare of the southeast. … Continued