Pat Armstrong

Before it was trendy, Pat Armstrong recognized how important the prairie was and worked on several significant prairie restoration projects in public places, where they today are used to inspire and teach others about the prairie and where they serve as recreational trails where those who don't know about the beauty of the prairie can be introduced to the beautiful plants and insects and birds. Her own yard is filled entirely with native plants and no turf grass lawn. She had to fight the city weed ordinances to do that and pioneered the concept of native plant landscapes. Her yard today is often on garden tours and she allows other gardeners to participate in her prairie burns so that they can learn how it is done. Pat is a botanical illustrator, and the gallery carries her notecard sets, one of prairie grasses and another of prairie forbs, a term for the flowering plants of the prairie.