Monster Spider in the Praire

Prairie Life

By Amy McDowell

My little brother and I saw the giant sinister spider at the same time, and our voices combined into one terrified, high-pitched squeal. Screaming nonstop, we raced through the prairie up the hill towards home, Mom, and safety. I was perhaps five, so Jeremy would’ve been four, and the tall prairie grasses towered several feet over our heads. The prairie was a labyrinth, but we knew home was up the hill.

We spewed, screaming, from the wild prairie onto our neatly mown lawn. Wide-eyed and breathless, we told Mom about the horrific spider. She was fascinated, and said she’d like to see it. Jeremy and I stared at her with our mouths hanging open. Surely, she was joking. Nope – she wanted to see the grotesque monster spider.

We agreed to go only after Mom promised that she would stay right by us. Reluctantly, we led her back into the prairie, seeking the spider. We looked and looked, but couldn’t find it. Our fears subsided and it became a challenge to find it, to prove to Mom how really scary it was.

Finally, we gave up and went back to the top of the hill. Mom returned to her laundry on the clothesline, and Jeremy and I stood on our tiptoes peering down the hill over the prairie. It was the next season before we had the guts to venture in by ourselves again.

My memories of the fear are distinct, but details of the spider’s appearance are long gone. Today I think the spider we saw was probably an orb weaver. The black and yellow argiope orb weavers have bold markings and perch in the center of their large flat webs. They can grow to be three inches from toe to, well, toe.

These days I see orb weavers in the summertime garden frequently, but my reaction to them has changed. I feel joyous, for I take them as a sign that my garden is environmentally healthy. I know they won’t harm me; they are predators of the insects in my garden. They are doing me a favor.

I have grown to love prairies and the fascinating hum of life within them. When I visit the 5,000-acre prairie at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City, the sound of the wind through the tall grasses soothes me to the soul. It is so peaceful it takes my breath away.

Amy McDowell is an Iowa Certified Nursery Professional. She has an associate’s degree in commercial horticulture and has worked in the field for ten years. She lives and gardens in Polk County. 

Fall Color

Raging Red and Flaming Orange

Bold fall colors for your garden

By Amy McDowell

Iowa is blazing with spectacular fall color. You still have time to plant some color in your garden this year. Take a trip to your local garden center and take a look at the vibrant rainbow of warm colors available in trees and shrubs.

Some of the most glorious trees right now are the red and sugar maples decked out in red and orange, and the white and green ashes wearing fall purple and golden yellow hues. Red maples (Acer rubrum) mature to about 40 to 60 feet tall with a rounded canopy. Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) reach 60 to 75 feet tall and tend to be taller than they are broad. Red and sugar maples turn to stunning reds and oranges in the fall. White ash trees (Fraxinus americana) will generally color to royal purple in the fall and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) will turn vibrant golden yellow. Depending on the variety, ash trees range from 40 to 70 feet tall.

At the garden center, you will find named varieties of maple and ash trees. Named varieties are essentially clones sharing the same genes. The advantage to a clone is that you can be guaranteed genetic traits such as spectacular fall color. Trees grown from seed are genetically diverse and fall color will vary from one plant to another.

If you are thinking about planting shrubs rather than trees, take a look at the intense colors of sumac, burning bush, fothergilla, viburnum, and witch hazel. Sumac (Rhus typhina) is the brilliant red you see along roadsides right now. It is a suckering shrub, so it forms a loose mound about 15 feet tall and about as wide as you will allow it to spread. Burning bush (Euonymus alatus) will stay in bounds at about ten feet high and wide. It is often used as a hedge, and can be kept to a more compact height if you prune it. Fothergilla (F. gardenii) will mature to around four feet and colors to a fiery red-orange-yellow combination in the fall. Viburnums (V. species) are Iowa natives, so they are tough and resilient. To choose a viburnum with great fall color, buy them right now. They turn shades of red and orange, but some species are bold while others are bland. Witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) is another red shrub you may see on roadsides right now. It will grow to about eight feet tall and ten feet wide.

Finally, there is the fierce red maple that is too short to be a shade tree, but pretty tall to be a shrub. It is the amur maple. You will see drifts of these along Iowa’s roadways that have been planted by the Department of Transportation. The stunning amur maples (Acer ginnala) often have a multi-stem trunk and grow to about 18 feet tall.

Amy McDowell is an Iowa Certified Nursery Professional. She has an associate’s degree in commercial horticulture and has worked in the field for ten years. She lives and gardens in Polk County.