June Prairie Blooms - Dyck Arboretum

This past week I had the opportunity to trek into the Flint Hills. I always enjoy spending time immersed in a prairie setting. It makes me feel small in a great big world. It makes me keenly aware of the great diversity and complexity of the prairie ecosystem. It also reminds me how precarious these settings are and how important they are to our survival and the life cycles of so many different things. Here are a few of the prairie blooms I saw in June:

Catclaw sensitive briar (Mimosa quadrivalvis var. nuttallii)

*The vibrant pink disco balls of catclaw sensitive briar stand out in the landscape.*

Narrowleaf Coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia)

Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

*The silvery green foliage and dark purple blooms of leadplant are striking in the landscape.*

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Millions of these bright yellow blooms dot the prairie hillsides.

Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)

*These flowers are a favorite of many pollinators.*

Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)

*Columnar coneflower reaching for the sky*

Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Sullivant’s Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii)

*Large pink clusters of blooms on Sullivant’s Milkweed Photo by Janelle Flory Schrock*

This is just a handful of flowers blooming right now in the Flint Hills. With all the rain, the prairies are lush and full of life. I would encourage you to take time to find a prairie near you, even our own Prairie Window Project, and enjoy our native habitat. I was amazed how alive the prairie was with sights and sounds of wildlife and pollinators. It was worth taking in the view of earth and sky.