Spring Hopes Perennial

Spring’s unfolding has been a stop-and-start affair in our valley this year. A brief early warm-up was followed by a cold, rainy stretch and then three inches of snow, a little sun and then more rain and cold. Plants everywhere continue awakening, though, pushing promisingly above the soil surface, pacing their growth, biding their time [...]

Natural Cleaners

Living so close to the Mississippi River flyway, we’ve become accustomed to the sight of Bald Eagles (and even the occasional Golden Eagle) sharing the skies above our valley with Red-Tail Hawks and our other resident raptors. Late this winter I had several opportunities to get a closer view of Bald Eagles in action and [...]

Natives with Wings

Many people who contact us at Prairie Moon are excited by the symbiotic relationships between native plants and hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinating insects. We also talk often with admirers of the dynamic interactions between the roots of native plants and elements and organisms in soil. I recently received a reminder, though, of the importance [...]

Mowing a Middle Way

With seeds and plants of more than 600 native species on hand, we’re brimming with cultural information, in-field growing experience and colorful anecdotes and we can talk enthusiastically about it all for hours. Yet, many of the questions that we most frequently receive are about our only non-native offering that’s not a cover crop–Eco-Grass, a [...]

Monarch Mystery to Me

Our valley is loaded with scores of healthy plants of most of the Asclepias and Liatris species, as well as many other natives, so we always have been treated to the presence of Monarch butterflies. Dozens of different insects are welcome neighbors, too, but the Monarchs always have brought a special thrill to me, even [...]

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