It’s July and midsummer already, and late in the month we’re getting a hint of autumn flowers to come. Prairies are blooming in force as well. There are some familiar and some new plants this month. There’s plenty of wildflowers out there to see!
This month’s most prominent flower is Queen Anne’s Lace. It was off to a modest start this summer, but it is plentiful now, in fields and along roadsides.
Here’s more of what I’ve seen:
Chicory
Black Eyed Susans
Common Teasel
Spiny-Leaved Sowthistle
Curly Dock
Field Bindweed
Fleabane
This has been an easy wildflower to identify, but soon keep an eye out for white asters blooming- they look superficially similar.
Ox-Eye Daisies
Sweetclover
Dandelion
White, Alsike & Red Clover
Common Plantain
English Plantain
Birds-Foot Trefoil
Common Milkweed
Canada Thistle
Black Mustard
Purple Loosestrife
Horse-Nettle
Self Heal
Orange Day-Lily
Fringed Loosestrife
Yarrow
Jewelweed
Pokeweed
Common Mullein
These big spikes really stand out in fields and along roadsides.
Moth Mullein
Wild Lettuce
St. John’s Wort
A rather popular herbal remedy.
Here are some mature summer wildflowers:
Lady’s Thumb
Very distinctive blooms!
Downy False Foxglove
Swamp Rose Mallow
I’ve seen this growing along the Scioto River- the blooms are quite large.
Ironweed
This is one of my favorites- love the rich color.
Evening Primrose
Always good to see this cheerful yellow bloom in waste areas.
Wild Potato Vine
Sneezeweed
Biennial Guara
Water Horehound
Garden Phlox
Blue Vervain
Leaf Cup
This plant’s big ragged leaves are often spotted along wood edges.
Wingstem
This distinctive plant is just starting to bloom.
Ox Eye
Prairie wildflowers are starting to flourish this month:
Grey Headed Coneflower
Purple Coneflower
Hairy Sunflower
These bright yellow sunflowers really stand out.
Whorled Rosinweed
This prairie plant can get up to 9 feet tall.
Wild Bergamot
Royal Catchfly
Perhaps the brightest-colored prairie plant I’ve seen- beautiful.
Blazing Star
Here’s a little peek at things to come:
Greater Ragweed
Lesser Ragweed
New England Aster
Goldenrod
Believe it or not, autumn is not that far off!
Seasons Flow 
Wow! A great collection of wildflower photos, Tracy. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely.
Wonderful post, chock full of great photos and info!
Great collection. I knew most of them, but several were new to me. The one you’ve labelled whorled loosestrife is rather fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata). We have both where I live, plus a few more.
Thanks for the heads-up! Fixed!
Beautiful! So many of our wild flowers have suffered this year, because of the harsh weather. Really nice to see such a varied collection!
Wow, what a big collection. Most are found here, too … thanks for naming them for me.
Great set of pictures.
I have such a soft spot in my heart for chicory–it always brings memories of relaxed summer days.
Chicory has that unique color that I really enjoy!
Yes, it really is a special color…
Aha. Greater ragweed! I was deciding whether I should remove an unknown plant. Now I know. Thanks.
Ragweed is the real culprit when it comes to hay fever! Goldenrod is innocent! 🙂
Autumn really isn’t that far off. You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge of plant identities–and your patience in loading them on your blog! I enjoy seeing them. Some I’ve found in my own yard, some I haven’t seen since I lived in W.Va., and some I’ve never seen. Always a treat!
I enjoy autumn too, Patti!
you are surrounded by so much beauty – great photos of flora! I don’t want summer to end 😦
I’ve seen most of them here but not all. I keep hoping to find some teasel and cardinal flowers, but haven’t seen any yet.
We have lots of Teasel to spare here in Ohio! Certain fields are full of it. The Cardinal Flower photographed here is a descendant of seeds taken from the last prairie remnants in Ohio (pioneer cemeteries, old railroad areas that were never touched) 20-30 years ago and re-sown in fields where prairies once were (and are back again). The Metro Park system here has made serious efforts to re-create the Darby Plains ecosystem that pre-dated the pioneer days, which is really cool.
What a delightful bouquet of beauty. 🙂
taking the words from the last comment “A delightful bouquet” indeed. There is so much beauty all around us but we so often fail to stop and smell the roses.
thank you for the lovely pictures 🙂
Hi. Quite an assembly. I like the Fringed Loosestrife… it grows down by the lakeshore where we are. I love the name ‘Teasel’. Jane
Beautiful. I’ll have to remember to return next winter! Thanks, Ellen
W.S…Great pictures…and you are right fall is not far away…in Minnesota, I would say, “Slow down.”…here in Arkansas, I want it to come…111 degrees yesterday and today…its been over 100 or near to that for weeks now…and a few weeks more…so though I love all these summer flowers…fall is welcome here…(at 70 though, I don’t wish my life away…so I can wait, and will enjoy everyday) thanks again…you make my day whenever I visit…
111 degrees? Now THAT is hot, Jim! We’ve been up to 100 here this summer, but not quite that hot!
Thanks for stopping by!
My, what a collection of summer flowers! I was a bit surprised to be familiar with most of them, but there several beauties in the group that we don’t have here.
Thanks for the comments everyone!
“Believe it or not, autumn is not that far off!” I had the same thought here in Texas the other day when I began to see some fall-blooming species of native plants getting ready to do their thing—or in some cases already doing it.
Steve Schwartzman
http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com
Steve, I always think, ‘nature knows what’s next’. And it’s getting ready.
Coming to your blog I always see plants I’ve encountered here in North Central Pennsylvania, but didn’t know the proper names for. When I was growing up, they were all ‘weeds’… LOL
They’re usually called ‘weeds’ here too, Robin! 🙂 Thinking of them as flowers makes me more curious about them, I think.
These are really beautiful! The cardinal flower photo is actually royal catchfly, though. I searched for “guara” on google hoping to see if that’s what I actually saw. And I did. Thanks for helping. 😉
Thanks Alli, and good catch on the Catchfly!
This is awesome! I take pics of my small dog in flowers and came here looking to identify one (canada thistle). I discovered that I don’t know nearly as many flowers as I thought! Thanks for the amazing resource!
You’re welcome DeeKa and thanks for the comment!
Ohio dog and his flowers: https://www.facebook.com/dee.kulbacki/media_set?set=a.10209315392777146.1073741836.1092676981&type=3&pnref=story
I loved finding this guide to our Ohio Wildflowers!
Glad you found it useful! Thanks for the comment!