Friends of the Wildflower Garden
These short articles are written to highlight the connections of the plants, history and lore of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden with different time frames or outside connections. A web of present and past events
May 2025
Early summer wildflowers for a shady garden
The tornado of 1925
Here is the weather report for spring 1925 by Eloise Butler. See if any of this sounds familiar 100 years later?
In April, very hot weather that unduly stimulated vegetation. Then late frosts -- ice forming May 26 -- that nipped aspiring flower buds. Some things were frozen four times. Therefore, no wild grapes, no Mayapples, nor several flowers. During May, heavy rains and cold weather, so that we said, ‘We’ll not complain when the sun roasts us.’
The worst was yet to come. In early June a tornado moved through Carver and Hennepin counties. Eloise wrote:
Tornado uprooted many large trees and tore off many tops and branches. Paths shut off and plants laid low with debris of the wreckage. The leading tree in the swamp was the tamarack. They were piled up like jackstraws by the tornado, and but few left standing. But most of the white birches, which were nearly equally abundant, were spared by reason of their deeper root system, as was also another prime ornament of the garden - a much be-photographed eight-boled white birch that dominates the eastern hillside.
The wetland area of the Garden never recovered that extensive growth of Tamarack. The large ones present today are majestic, but now living with numerous other species but not including the white birch - they too are mostly gone.
There was one other victim of the tornado - old Monarch, the ancient white oak. In 1912 Eloise brought in tree surgeons to attend to the tree's ills. She wrote:
“Monarch,” as we call him, was slowly dying atop. So, in obedience to the scriptural injunction, his dead limbs were cut off and cast away, and decayed portions of his “heart” - not essential as with humans for circulation -- were taken out and replaced with concrete. Thus, lopped and reinforced, he bade fair for many more years to hold sway. Alack and alas! In the tornado of June 1925, large chunks of concrete were belched out and all the limbs torn off. How long will he yet stand without his crown?
Martha Crone had the tree removed in 1940 when dying limbs became a hazard.
Read more:
History of Monarch
1925 history
Trees in the Wild Garden -1926, by Eloise Butler.
Our native dogwoods are blooming.
Six dogwoods of the genus Cornus are native to Minnesota. Four are found in Eloise Butler.
The Red Osier is in bloom with Pale, Grey and Pagoda next.
Dogwoods add a rich texture to the landscape - from the showy flower clusters of late spring, to the colorful fruit of summer, to the leaf color of autumn, and the variety of bark color year around.
The link goes to our illustrated article about all six native species.
Below: A large grouping of Red osier Dogwood in the wetland area
Early summer wildflowers for a shady garden.
Once the spring ephemerals are past, we often look to the brighter colors of summer and that usually means sun-loving plants. But if your garden area is shady and you want native wildflowers, what to do?
Consider our selection.
This selection of plants begins with those that transition from late spring into early summer, followed by those that withhold their bloom until after mid-July. They will obtain their moisture requirements from rainfall, but in extreme heat or drought, a helpful soaking will tide them over. These are taller than our spring selection so place the tallest with careful selection.
None require special soil - just a top soil that has medium or moderate richness and good drainage. If the subsoil is clay - no matter. The shade must not be dense as in a deep forest but more dappled or at least with some slanting sunlight for an hour or two.
This link is to our illustrated list with details on each plant.
An unusual loosestrife.
The Tufted Loosestrife is unusual in the manner of displaying its flowers. You normally expect see a loosestrife inflorescence with flowers arranged along a vertical spike (a raceme) or appearing singly in open clusters, all with petals flared outward.
The Tufted Loosestrife, Lysimachia thyrsiflora, has a very different and unusual inflorescence. It is called a "thyrse." A thyrse is a compact branching inflorescence like the flower cluster of the lilac with a central stem but with short side stalks that actually hold the flower clusters. The entire structure is contracted and in the case of this species it almost resembles an egg shape on a short 1/2 to 2 inch stalk rising from the leaf axil.
Tufted Loosestrife is indigenous to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and grows in the wetland where you may see it from the boardwalk in late spring or early summer. There will be no other plant to confuse with it.
Historically, there has been a common perception that loosestrife plants have soothing powers over animals, which led people to tie a branch to the yolk of oxen, making them easier to handle. The plants are known to repel gnats and other irritating insects which maybe explains why the animals were easier to handle.
Plant information sheet - Tufted Loosestrife
Below: Tufted Loosestrife in the wetland.
Did you know . . .
Longest life spans.
The living creature with the longest known estimated life span is the Hexactinellid sea sponge - 15,000 years. Next might be the Great Basin bristlecone pine at 5,600 years. Compare that to the worm - Ceanorhabditis elegans at 40 days, or a Mayfly at 2 years or the blue whale at 110 years.
Early speed traps.
Back in the early days of the automobile when the rules of road were sometimes at the whim of the driver, there was an early movement to prevent speeding.
One ingenious idea was to require a signal plate on a car where a series of 3 or 4 colored lights tied to the speedometer would light up to register speed. One color for a range of low speeds, another color for the next range and finally red to indicate too high a speed.
We don't believe it ever got into production.
Historical Photo
A section of the wetland center with Marsh Marigolds and one of the open water pools created in 1947, photographed by Martha Crone on May 27 1950. Seventy five years later, this area is approximately that seen on the west side of the current boardwalk after you have passed the large gathering area bench as you are walking south.
All selections published in 2025
All selections published in 2024
All selections published in 2023