This Week in Iowa Nature

Bumblebee queens emerge from their winter hibernation.

The Iowa Nature Calendar, by Jean Prior and James Sandrock

Plant of the Week

Hoary vervain
Verbena stricta Vent.
other common names: mullein-leaved verbena, woolly verbena
Verbena: a Latin name for any sacred herb
Stricta: meaning “strict”
Vervain family: Verbenaceae

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

March Gardening Tip

When buying bedding plants, choose those that aren't in bloom. If they already have bloomed, pinch off the blooms when you plant them. Your plant will get established faster, and you will have a bushier plant.
--Agnes Kozisek, Ventura Garden Club


Veronica Lorson Fowler with the Federated Garden Clubs of Iowa, Gardening in Iowa and Surrounding Areas

Aromatic aster - Art by Claudia McGehee

Aromatic aster, Aster oblongifolius

In the fall, after most plants have finished blooming, aromatic aster opens its flowers across the prairie. Each bushy plant has hundreds of bright purple flowers with yellow centers.

Claudia McGehee, A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet

Plant of the Week

Death camas
Zigadenus elegans Pursh
other common names: alkali grass, smooth camass, white camass
Zigadenus (also Zygadenus): probably from Greek zygos, meaning “a yoke,” and aden, meaning “a gland,” because the glands sometimes occur in pairs. (Also called Anticlea.)
Elegans: from Latin for “elegant,” perhaps in reference to the showy flower heads
Lily family: Liliaceae

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

March Gardening Tip

Save the oil drained from your car and mix it with sand in a box or pail. When you're through with a garden tool, such as a spade, plunge it into the oiled sand to clean and oil it in one operation.
--Wilma Lesan, Ames Garden Club

Veronica Lorson Fowler with the Federated Garden Clubs of Iowa, Gardening in Iowa and Surrounding Areas

This Week in Iowa Nature

March 21-22: Vernal Equinox

The Iowa Nature Calendar, by Jean Prior and James Sandrock