Late Summer on the Prairie Part 1

It’s September. As summer lingers, many of the plants on my prairie have bloomed since spring and they are still going strong. Zexmenia, four-nerve daisy, autumn sage, blue mistflower and standing cypress are some examples of the prolific bloomers.

While the spring and summer bloomers were putting on their show and attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to my prairie, several other plants were quietly enduring the heat and drought - waiting for their time to shine in late summer and fall.

In the front prairie, pitcher sage, Salvia azurea 'grandiflora', is beginning to bloom among the flowers of little bluestem grass, Schizachyrium scoparium. The little bluestem is about two and a half feet tall and sways gracefully in the late summer breezes.

This gayfeather, Liatris mucronata, has just a few flowers, but it is already attracting bees. Before long, its numerous spiky stems will be covered with flowers and the flowers will be covered with bees and butterflies.

In my next post, I will feature the late summer plants in the backyard prairie.