Restoring Bottomland Prairie: Signs of Succession!

 That green haze on the ground around this clump of switch grass is the new growth of hedge parsley, a non-native annual that used to cover the entire field.   But now it's giving way to native perennials such as this switch grass, which we did not plant but which volunteered.

Also scoring for the perennial side is Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis), which was in our seedmix.   It bloomed last year in the south-central part of the field.   But here it is, with its beautiful basal leaves, in the northwest part of the field!

Switch Grass surrounded by Hedge Parlsey

These basal leaves of Penstemon digitalis
stand out colorfully against the dead, straw-colored
stalks from last year's fox tails.

These basal leaves of Penstemon digitalis
are not always so vari-colored.   Sometimes
they are completely green.