Exciting

It looks like my first Prairie Smoke will flower soon. I found a bud yesterday! Most of the shade plants we put in as dormant roots last fall are coming up; the Bloodroot is now flowering. The Mayapple umbrellas are popping open and the Jack in the Pulpit just emerged. The only thing that is not showing itself is the Black Cohosh. The location may have been bad. I may get Virginia Bluebell flowers for the first time since planting those 3-4 years ago.

The prairie areas look nice. Still too weedy, but many natives are also growing. I am thrilled my Prairie Cow Slobber survived, even though the Virginia one looks like its a goner. The White Sage has spread much more than I expected, but it will be ok. It didn't seem to head toward my beardtongues, so all is well.

About beardtongues, does anyone know if they cross pollinate easily? I was not thinking when we transplanted the Large-flowered near to a Purple Ozark. I was just trying to get the Large-flowered away from some Monarda, since I learned this Beardtongue does not like competition.

I will post photos later.

I only have two photos edited so far.. Look at my Jack in the Pulpit... like that color! And the other picture is Yellow Giant Hyssop, I liked how it looked on a foggy morning. My Virginia Spiderwort is doing well, just a little slower coming up. I yanked some White Sage and mulched around the Tradescantia so I can find them again. :) Oh, I planted some bits of white sage into another area, one where it can grow freely at will.

I planted some fun things the last couple of days: Obedient Plant (It's back with the Queen of the Prairie. It will be fun to see the two aggressive species together. ), a naturally pink variety of Virginia Spiderwort, Wild Sweet William, and Fragrant Sumac.

I would be happy to join in the excitement there - except it's all too herbaceous for me.

Fire up some woodies there, already! The sumac you mentioned at the end piqued my curiosity, even though you are in Iowa (?) or somewhere farther Plains-ian than here in central KY Bluegrass.

Where are all the great Viburnums...

Haha! I like my forbs, sedges, etc. I got the sumac because it was on sale and I am wanting something to attract a wider variety of insects.

I have it planted "out there" where it can more freely grow. I do not know enough whether it is ok to have in a prairie type setting or not, so I feel as if I am taking a risk with this if growing conditions are right. But who knows, maybe the rabbits or deer may enjoy this.

I love my fragrant sumac, but it took a long time for me to establish. I have it in a shady spot (almost everything in my yard is in a shady spot).

Chillybean, congratulations! May you get beautiful floating seed pods.

I planted some of those (lured by a picture in a Prairie Moon catalog) as seeds, but no sign yet. Actually, not many of my native seeds planted last fall seem to be moving along, but there are some promising patches (things that I can't identify as weeds right off) and I'm studying seedling pictures.

I order a bit from Prairie Moon and have been happy with most things, but any losses are probably something I did, rather than their product. They are very helpful, either through their contact form or phone.

Seeds do take time, I've noticed. We planted a seed mix from there fall of 2013, kept it mowed the next year, but along the edges things came up, like Partridge Pea, Anise Hyssop and some others. Last year, we mowed it down in the spring and a lot more came up. It was mowed in the fall, which I am not sure if it was a good idea or not as creeping charlie made some headways in there, but a lot more of the natives came up... an amazing amount. The Golden Alexanders are thriving!

Don't give up on the seeds... Are you familiar with this saying... "First year, they sleep. Second year, they creep. Third year, they leap!"

Last year, I planted Showy Tick Trefoil seeds that did not need cold stratification and they produced somewhat gangly plants, but the little patches are doing better this year. They start later than other natives, so I thought I lost them.

Most of the time I am pretty patient--celebrating little spurts of growth, single blooms, and other small victories. It's a small lot with roots & rocks, and a few areas that can fairly be called full sun, so I've planted different kinds of seeds to see what might find its place. With a lot of small seedlings, though, it is very hard to tell who is foe and who is friend!

Glad to hear about the Golden Alexanders, Anise Hyssop, etc. They seem like popular habitat plants (popular with the microbeasts, I mean). I put down some seeds of the former, but on a slight slope where little seems to grow. Some little hyssop plants I started indoors are hanging on--not growing much, but stable--that seems hopeful, for the stage they're at.