Prairie Garden

In an Ohio prairie garden, spring begins with a burn. Reduced to ash, the ground is absorbing more sun than it has in months. Within days, green returns. Shoots push straight through the soot, unblocked by last year’s thatch. Grasses reemerge tight and fresh, while early blooms rise quickly into the cleared light. The burn sharpens everything. Color feels more deliberate. Growth is direct. What looked stripped away is, in truth, reset—making room for a season that comes on stronger because of it.