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Bob Henrickson's Top 12 Wildflowers Wildflower Week 2009, May 30-June 7 May 29-31 near Onawa, IA (east of Decatur, NE). Loess Hills Prairie Seminar at Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area. Times & places vary. 712/222-6080, bennaid@hotmail.com May 30 near Kimball. Western Trails Wagons and Wildflowers Tour, 10am-4pm at EJE Ranch, about 3 miles south and 2 miles west of Kimball. Hike or take horse & carriage rides from Diamond T Ranch. Free, chuckwagon available, cash donations. 308/241-0878 (more info at end of events) May 30 near Ashland. Guided Wildflower Walks at Mahoney State Park starting at 11am from Owen Marina parking lot. 402/944-2523 x7122 May 30-June 7 near Harrison. Guided Walks twice daily at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, weather and staff permitting. Over 4 miles of trails with plant signage and herbarium in visitor center. 308/436-9772 May 30-31 in Lincoln. Pioneers Park Nature Center (keyword "nature") display of "Flora of Nebraska" botanical prints in the Prairie Building. 402/441-8708 May 30-June 7 in Clarkson. Wildflower Sale at Gardenland Nursery. Hours M-F 8-5, Sat. 8-4 & Sun. 1-5. 402/892-3442. May 31 in Beatrice. Presentation on “The Butterflies of Homestead” at 1 and 3pm (45 minutes each) at Homestead National Monument of America, four miles west of Beatrice on Hwy. 4. No charge. 402/223-3514, Jessica_Fleming@nps.gov June 2 near Hampton. Wildflower Walk at 7pm at Marie Ratzlaff Prairie Preserve, 5.5 miles south of I-80 Hampton Exit 338. Sponsored by Prairie Plains Resource Institute,
402-694-5535, janppri@hamilton.net June 2 at UNL Botanical Gardens & Arboretum. Tour and Scavenger Hunt in Love Garden. Meet at 6pm east of Sheldon Museum of Art—for families, including children. Jazz in June follows at 7 pm. 402/472-2679 June 3 near Ashland. Guided Wildflower Walks at Mahoney State Park starting at 11am from Owen Marina parking lot. 402/944-2523 x7122 June 3-30 in Fremont. Midland Lutheran College display of "Flora of Nebraska" botanical prints. 800/642-8382 June 4 Wildflower walk at Omaha's Lauritzen Gardens at 10am. June 6 "Nature Detectives" at Omaha's Lauritzen Gardens from 2-4 pm. Children will learn to identify wildflowers and sketch their favorites. Register by May 31, $13. 402/346-4002 x201 June 6 in Lincoln. Nebraska Statewide Arboretum sale of wildflowers and other native and hardy plants, trees, grasses and shrubs, and tour of display gardens, near 38 th and Leighton. 402/472-2971 June 6 near Unadilla. Wachiska Audubon Society tour of Dieken Prairie from 1-4pm (1 mile south and 3/4 mile west of Unadilla). 402/525-4884 June 6 near Marquette. Wildflower Walk at 9 a.m.at Griffith Prairie, 4 miles west then .5 mile north from Highway 14 Marquette turnoff. Sponsored by Prairie Plains Resource Institute, 402-694-5535, janppri@hamilton.net June 6 near Kimball. MORNING 7am-noon “Iron American Flower Power Prairie” 5k Hike/Run, t-shirts & prizes at EJE Ranch, about 3 miles south and 2 miles west of Kimball. EVENING “ Wildflower Moongazing” from Kimball stoplight drive 5 miles south on Hwy. 71 to Cty. Rd. 24; then west 1.5 miles to pasture entrance and park near corrals. Short wildflower tour at 7 p.m., full moon rises over prairie at 8, sun sets about 9 pm. Gather by chuckwagon campfire for s'mores and other refreshments and watch moon rise from warm glow of prairie sunset. Free, cash donations, 308/241-0878 (more info at end of events) June 7 near Lincoln. Wildflower Walk from 1:30-3pm at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center (from 4-way stop in Denton, west 1/2 mile to SW 98th St. and 3 mi. south). 402/797-2301, scp@audubon.org June 7 near Albion. Wildflower Walk at 2:30 p.m. at Olson Nature Preserve, 8 miles north of Albion on Highway 14, left on Y Rd and one mile to entrance gate. Sponsored by Prairie Plains Resource Institute, 402-694-5535, janppri@hamilton.net June 7 near Ashland. Guided Wildflower Walks at Mahoney State Park starting at 11am from Owen Marina parking lot. 402/944-2523 x7122 June 7 Rose Show at Omaha's Lauritzen Gardens from 1:30-4pm. June 13 near Gretna. Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center "A Day in the Garden" for K-6 from 8:30am to 4pm. Explore nature's secrets with hands-on activities and a walk in the woods. 402/332-4496 June 13 in Omaha. Lauritzen Gardens "Wild about Wildflowers" from 10-11:30am. Wildflower hike and identification, and create wildflower guide. Children 5-12 with one adult. Register by June 6, $26. 402/346-4002 x201 June 13-14 in Lincoln. Sculpted paper workshops at Pioneers Park Nature Center sponsored by Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Times, ages and prices vary. 402/441-8708, bseth@lincoln.ne.gov KIMBALL driving directions for May 30 and June 6 MORNING event Nebraska Wildflower Brochure from Nebraska Department of Roads
Where to See Wildflowers in Nebraska Tallgrass Prairie—Natural Areas Central Mixed Grass Prairie—Natural Areas Western Mixed Grass Prairie—Natural Areas Sandhills Prairie—Natural Areas
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Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta. Bright golden yellow daisies bloom mid-summer into autumn. Deep brown center disks are striking through winter. Grows in full sun or partial shade in soil that is well-drained but not dry. 
Desert globemallow, Sphaeralcea coccinea. Hardy, low-growing native groundcover with coral red flowers throughout the summer. Foliage is silvery gray and deeply cut. Prefers dry site once established. 
Leadplant, Amorpha canescens. A Nebraska native that attracts butterflies. It has showy blue-purple flowers with gold anthers that rise above silvery green foliage. Prefers well-drained soil in full sun, but also tolerates poor, dry soil. Grows 2' high and wide. 
Plains coreopsis,Coreopsis tinctoria.
A native annual that flowers from June to September. Showy yellow flowers with red centers and brown center disks are produced on fairly large branched plants. Grows from 1-3' tall and prefers dry prairies or open woodlands. 
Prairie coneflower, Echinacea pallida. Showy flowerheads have pale pink drooping petals around a dark, dome-shaped disk. Grows 1-3' tall in moist to dry upland prairies. Stout, unranched stems are covered with coarse, stiff hairs. Seedheads remain through winter. 
Prairie larkspur, Delphinium virescens. Native perennial of moist, tallgrass prairies that grows to 3' tall. Distinctive flowers in May-June have five white petal-like sepals with purplish-brown spot and a long spur. 
Purple poppy mallow, Callirhoe involucrata. This tough native is often grown as a groundcover or allowed to weave among taller perennials. Its stems lie close to the ground, but do not root, growing out to 4’ each year from a bulb-like corm that gets as big as a turnip. Bright purple cup-shaped flowers bloom profusely in early summer among the attractive, cut-leaf foliage. 
Spiderwort, Tradescantia ohioensis. Clump-forming, multi-stemmed perennials with arching, grass-like leaves. Produce showy clusters of flowers in late spring and early summer. Colors range from various shades of blue to pink, rose, purple and white. Spiderworts native to the Great Plains can tolerate full sun and dry conditions.
Yellow coneflower, Ratibida columnifera. This bushy 2' tall native prairie plant is extremely drought-tolerant. In late summer the top of the plant is covered with flowers of bright yellow petals drooping around a central cone. Prefers a hot, sunny site and well-drained soils.