Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

A monarch butterfly on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia) in my garden. Monarch butterflies are beautiful butterflies that once used to be common across North America. But now that nature is being degraded more and more, these butterflies are being  closer and closer to their demise. The caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed plants and the butterflies feed on any flower with a good nectar source. Let us plant more milkweed plants in our backyards to promote the growth of monarch butterflies. Stay tuned to my blog for purchasing milkweeds directly from me to conserve and promote the survival of monarch butterflies.

Monarda in Midewin

An elegant picture of Monarda fistulosa. Monarda fistulosa is a prairie classic and a must have in an meadow. Monarda is commonly seen even in degraded prairies with invasive herbaceous and woody vegetation as I have seen it in Midewin. Here it is pictured in a large colony of Monarda along with some other prairie classics in a restoration project. Catch a royal performance and an encore of Monarda in mid-late summer.

Hennepin and Hopper Lakes 2

Hennepin and Hopper Lakes

Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)

Prairie Blazing Star in Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Prairie Blazing Star grows in mesic to moist but never in standing water. From my own experience, they are the tallest of all of the blazing stars. The flower spike tends to curve slightly side to side and is usually thinner than the other blazing stars.

Here Prairie Blazing Stars are growing in clumps in a reconstruction site in Midewin. They are naturally found in high quality sites. Ninety-eight percent of blazing star flowers are purple, as you see above, but very few are naturally white. I have seen a few in my experience.

It will take a few years before a seedling will reach this much growth and robustness. Most do not start  flowering the first year, a few start flowering the second year and most will flower the third year. If conditions are poor, then the plant will flower the fourth year or later.

Blazing stars are relatively hard to identify from my experience, but I just concentrate on the habitat and height of the plant to determine what kind of blazing star it is.

Spike Rush (Eleocharis spp.)

Spike rushes in North America like to grow in shallow water like that found in marshes, swales, and along ponds and lakes. Spike rushes are found world-wide especially around the tropics. The eleocharis pictured above is growing along a lake in natire preserve called Lake Katherine. Spike rushes are characterized by leafless stems that look like grass with a brown flower/seed head. They usually do not exceed more than 2 feet in height.

I have never seen eleocharis growing in disturbed areas. The only places I have seen eleocharis is in restoration areas like Lake Katherine or in undisturbed wetlands. Eleocharis spp. are very hard to identify, so that is why I am not even going to try identify this one above.

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Ring the BLUEBELLS! Time is coming near for their arrival!

During a lovely morning walk in a small nature preserve in Munice, IN, I ran across these elegant gentlemen. When I took these pictures, I was in college, I believe it was my junior of college. At that point I did not know what they were so I just took pictures of them and admired them.

These are Virginia Bluebells, they are native to eastern North America. They thrive in moist to mesic soils along edges of woodlands or openings in forests. This beauty is growing in an open woodland along with few vegetation. It is a quick grower and bloomer in the springtime.

They are a favorite among gardeners and nature enthusiasts.

As you can see, they bloom well before most trees even have a chance to send forth their first leaf. By early to mid-summer, this handsome fellow goes dormant until next spring.