bg真人

Published: June 27, 2024

The bg真人 prairie has never been so lush this early in the year, most certainly because of the controlled burn in April. The prairie is changing every day, and visitors will see many goldfinches and insects flying around the聽blooms. On June 7, the bg真人 community held an outdoor聽 鈥減rairie prayers鈥� chapel service to worship the Creator of all this beauty!

This native landscaping is an expression of bg真人鈥檚 commitment to care for God鈥檚 creation. Six of the 44 acres on campus were restored to native prairie in the 2000s.

These are some of the plants that have bloomed in the last month: 

• Black-eyed Susan: These are cheery yellow flowers whose petals don鈥檛 droop like the later Yellow Coneflower.
• Butterfly Milkweed: You鈥檒l see the bright orange clusters of blooms, beloved by many insects!
• Common Milkweed: Especially dominant on the north side of the prairie, these are the main host for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. By feeding on milkweed as caterpillars, Monarch butterflies become horrible-tasting to birds and other predators, who know to avoid their orange and black pattern.
• Fox Sedge: This is a shorter grass with a cute spiky ball on top.
• Foxglove Beardtongue: This year, we have lots of this stunning white flower with the strangest name. In the fall, its seed heads are also beautiful.
• Golden Alexander: These filled the rain gardens in May; some appeared in the prairie. They still look nice now that their bright yellow flower is gone.
• Prairie Bergamot: These fringy lavender flowers are just beginning to bloom.
• Prairie Coreopsis: Look for large groups of small yellow flowers with small leaves all the way up the stems.
• Prairie Phlox: A few different colors of prairie phlox appeared on the south end of the prairie. 
• Purple Coneflower: These are starting to open up throughout the prairie and landscaping, and the Yellow Coneflowers will be close behind.
• Rattlesnake Master: This plant looks like it belongs in the desert, with aloe-like leaves and white spiky balls on long stems.
• Spiderwort: The purple bloom closes up as the day goes on.
• White Campion: This is invasive, but I鈥檝e been monitoring it for years, and it isn鈥檛 spreading. The flower is at the end of a long bulb.
• White Wild Indigo: A member of the pea family, these wildflowers are large bushy plants with gorgeous long flower stalks that look out of place in the prairie. Some of the plants are huge this year! 
• Wild Columbine: I found one small red-flowered plant near the path early in the season.
• Wild Four O鈥機locks: Three plants are located on the north edge of the north prairie; it鈥檚 the first time we’ve seen it in the prairie. While native to our region, it is listed as an invasive plant. We are watching it to make sure it doesn鈥檛 spread too much.
• Wild Iris: I spotted a few in the rain garden on the northwest corner of the library.
• Wild Lupine: An early bloomer, the lupine was super abundant this year. Now you will find their seed pods close to the ground, which will change from green to brown as the summer progresses. 
• Wild Quinine: The blooms are rubbery like cauliflower and will last a long time.
• Yarrow: Most of these are white,  but I found some with a pink tint.
• Yellow Coreopsis: A few clusters of these bloomed. They aren鈥檛 as tall as the many yellow flowers that will bloom later in the summer.

Many other grasses and wildflowers will bloom later this summer and fall. 

If you are in the area, feel free to stop by bg真人 and enjoy the beauty!

鈥� Janeen Bertsche Johnson, MDiv (DMin student), Campus Pastor

(Starting at top left and going by row): Black-eyed Susan; Butterfly Milkweed (orange, front) and Prairie Coreopsis (yellow, back); Fox Sedge; Foxglove Beardtongue; Golden Alexander; Purple Coneflower (two images); Rattlesnake Master; Spiderwort; White Campion; White Wild Indigo and Common Milkweed (two images); Wild Columbine; Wild Four O鈥機locks; Wild Lupine and Prairie Phlox; Wild Quinine; and Yarrow. (Credit: Janeen Bertsche Johnson)

(Starting at top left and going by row): White Wild Indigo; Butterfly Milkweed (orange), Prairie Coreopsis (yellow) and Wild Quinine (white) (two images). (Credit: Janeen Bertsche Johnson)

• Category: News