The Stories A Yard Can Tell
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Planting a New Tradition The Cole Family has made visiting the Spring Plant & Art Sale to buy native plants a family tradition. “Anyone who’s on our deck, they’ve heard the stories about the Indian…
Flowers
How to Plant a Mini Prairie
There are many reasons Why to Plant a Mini Prairie ranging from reducing water runoff to restoring lost habitat for pollinators. Planting a prairie — even a little one — may seem daunting, but with…
How Mini Prairies Help Pollinators
What is a mini prairie? The plight of our pollinators is a far-reaching problem that impacts all of humanity, but what if there’s a small way that you can make a difference? Meet the mini…
Get gardening! Tips for a greener thumb.
With everyone isolated at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no better time to start a garden. Spending time outdoors is great for your physical and mental health and not only beautifies your home…
Cold Stratification for Seed Success
We now have native prairie seeds available for purchase in our Creekside shop! Some prairie seeds will germinate best when they have undergone a process of cold stratification. This process occurs naturally in prairies during the…
The Million Seed Giveaway
Join the movement in Linn County The Million Seed Giveaway Milkweed & Pollinator Seeds Saturday, May 12, 2018 10 AM-2 PM Clearwater Farm 4970 Lakeside Road, Marion, IA Closest intersection: East Post Road and 30th…
Our Bees LOVE Joe Pye
Land steward Jean Wiedenheft loves to take photos of “her” bees on our flowers around the grounds and the bees have been going crazy for the Joe Pye weed out back. It’s really not a…
Ephemeral Favorites with Intriguing Stories
Jan waxes poetic about the beautiful wildflowers springing up around our grounds… The fairyland quality of the vernal woods draws many wildflower lovers. Oak-hickory woodland floors are sprinkled with subtle hues of ephemeral wildflowers dancing…
Plant Sale
Dana wants you to know about our big Plant Sale! It goes on … rain, snow or shine! Celebrate the gardening season and support Iowa’s only privately-funded Nature Center by attending our annual Spring Plant…
After the Rain
Jean was out inspecting the trails following our big rains last week and offered these observations… The recent rains, while much-needed, have brought down some trees across the trails. The sunshine and lack of wind…