My prairie is awash in Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta. The seed mix sown a year ago must have been heavy in this species. They are brightening the prairie no matter where you look.  Nothing else in the prairie appears close to blooming.  But outside the prairie, we have much more.

Daisy fleabane Erigeron strigosus (right) and Yarrow Achillea millefolium(below), both members of the Aster family, line the fence along our western property line.  The neighbors pastured their horses in another field this spring, so plants along the fence row have had an opportunity to take hold.

The more I spend time studying my prairie, the more I see Iowa’s native flowers blooming everywhere. They’ve been around me all along.  Now I just take the time to see them.