Places to Go: Diamond Grove Prairie CA

Diamond Grove Prairie Conservation Area

A bouquet of blooms and birds

Neckties traditionally beat out flowers for Father’s Day, but if one wants to buck tradition, a trip with Pop to Diamond Grove Prairie Conservation Area (CA) provides bunches of blooms to view (but not pick).

Located on more than 850 acres in southwest Missouri’s Newton County, Diamond Grove Prairie CA boasts a bouquet of wildflower blooms, said MDC Wildlife Biologist Warren Sharp.

“Between 500–600 acres of it is actually a designated natural area, so it’s pretty high-quality prairie,” Sharp said. “In June, a lot of the wildflowers all start popping up. Later in June and July it should be pretty well in full swing, with lots of good wildflowers to look at.”

A consistent regimen of prescribed fire gives wildflowers a boost against grasses and invasives that might otherwise choke them out.

“They’ll basically just lay there dormant and let the grass kind of take over,” he said. “Whenever you get all the thatch burned off of it, that’s when they have a chance to express themselves.”

And if Dad is more into birds than blooms, Diamond Grove Prairie CA is also a magnet for those migrating bird species that seek out native grasslands, he said.