Winter in my Prairie

There are prairie flowers growing in my yard during the spring, summer and autumn.  Now in the winter, everything is dormant.  We let the plants stand to allow any seeds to be food for birds or small critters.

We have sandy soil in Winona and the Little Bluestem likes that kind of soil. 

Here are some more grasses and Cream Wild Indigo leaves.  They grow in a bush form and flower   with yellow flowers in early spring.

 This is Wild Bergamot. It has light purple flowers when it blooms in later summer.

This is Stiff Goldenrod.  Most of it's seed would have blown away.

The tallest plant to the left is called Giant Yellow Hyssop with the dark brown long seed pods.  The more bushy plant to the right is Brown-Eyed Susan with the rounded brown seed head.  It's flowers are golden yellow in the late autumn.

A close up of an Amorpha Fruiticosa.

This Amorpha Fruiticosa is over six feet tall.

There are a few Common Milkweed plants that grow around our house.  They feed the monarch butterflies.

Two large catalpa trees give some nice shade in the summer.  We have lots of flowers that bloom through the growing season.

Sunny day with interesting clouds gave me the idea to photograph some of the plants in our yard.  I'm so grateful for sun and for the warmth.  The days are getting longer.