Several plants in the native prairie garden near University Apartments should look familiar to campus walkers.

They were relocated from areas of campus now dominated by the construction of the Doudna Fine Arts building to the demonstrative native prairie garden developed by biological science professors Janice Coons and Nancy Coutant.

The two were happy to use the plants in the garden that is now home to about 80 different native prairie plant species.

“We’re doing it because we think it’s important and valuable and a great teaching aid,” Coutant said about the garden. “Hopefully, a lot of the classes will use it.”

The garden was started in July 2005 from plants and resources left over from a research grant from the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research.

A portion of another research grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is currently being used to help develop the prairie garden and two other native plant gardens on campus, Coons said.

“A lot of people think of natural plants as just big weeds,” she said. “But they’re not.”

Among the plants in the garden are four species endangered to Illinois. Three of the plants, including the Royal Catchfly and Queen of the Prairie, are endangered because of destruction of their habitats in the state, Coons said.

The native plants in the garden require less chemicals and upkeep than other gardens or landscaping and should be better for the environment, Coons said.

“Once we get it established the upkeep should be fairly minimal,” she said. “We think we’re about done planting.”

A few graduate students worked to get the prairie garden going in the summer of 2005 and fall and spring semesters of 2006-07. The garden is still being developed but with volunteer work from groups like the Botany Club.

“Students have really been involved with this,” Coons said.

Native woodland and wetland gardens are also being developed on campus, although they’re only in the beginning stages.

The prairie garden has not been officially introduced to the university yet, but Coutant plans to do so in the spring once she and Coons have gathered more teaching information about the garden. A Web site is currently under construction for the project at www.eiu.edu/~n_plants.

Even though the garden hasn’t been formally announced, Coutant said people in the area are already becoming familiar with it.

“It seems like a lot of people certainly have noticed it,” she said. “It’s always fun to come and see what’s blooming, what’s coming up.”

While the garden has pretty much stopped blooming for the season, they’ll liven up again in May and should have new blooms about every two weeks during the warm season.