We spent the Memorial Day Weekend in Nerstrand, Minnesota, which is about 45 minutes south of Minneapolis, at the home of family friends. Mary and Doug have plenty of lovely garden space—their property includes acres of former farmland that they are returning to its natural, prairie state.
Steve and I took Doug’s Gator out for a ride through the prairie, down toward the red barn that marks the next neighbor’s property. We spotted some wild turkeys, a deer, and plenty of wildflowers.
Mary and Doug grow vegetables or flowers in single-plant beds scattered through the property, but Mary also maintains a beautiful flowerbed next to the kitchen. While we were there, her peonies were just ready to open up, and when 
we woke up Monday, one of her poppies had blossomed overnight.
Down in their rock garden, something blooms all year long. The donkey tail spurge is just about bloomed out, but the catnip (featuring the purple flowers) was something to see.
Here are two more pictures from Mary’s flower garden:
on Jun 6th, 2006 at 5:45 am
[...] Flowers on the prairie [...]
on Oct 1st, 2008 at 12:25 pm
[...] Iowa after an August brunch with Maggie and Heal, and a jug of maple syrup made by family friend Doug that I’m still working [...]