Plant of the Week

Yellow coneflower
Ratibida pinnata (Vent.) Barnh.
other common names: drooping coneflower, gray coneflower, prairie coneflower (also applied to R. columnifera), weary Susan, grayhead coneflower
Ratibida: The origin of this name is not clear
Pinnata: from Latin, meaning “featherlike”
Daisy family: Asteraceae (Compositae)

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

April Gardening Tip

In early April, start plants indoors from seeds to set out unprotected in mid-May. These include tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, snapdragons, petunias, and other bedding plants. If you use frost-protective devices, such as Wall O' Water, tepees, floating row covers, or cold frames, you can set out your tomatoes, peppers, and other heat-loving plants mid-month.

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

Plant of the Week

Goat’s rue
Tephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers.
other common names: catgut, devil’s shoestrings, hoary pea, North American turkey pea, Virginia tephrosia, wild sweetpea
Tephrosia: from Greek tephros, meaning “ash-colored or hoary”
Virginiana: meaning “of Virginia”
Legume family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

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

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