October is the beginning of the end of the wildflower season here in Ohio. Those bright blooms of September are gradually fading to brown, which is becoming the predominant color of vegetation in the fields and woods. It was a brief and glorious late colorful season, though there are still blooms to see- it’s not winter yet!
Asters are the predominant blooms now.
Goldenrod is plentiful, but much of it is browning- last month’s yellow fields are turning to gold and tan.
Queen Anne’s Lace is mostly brown, but some blooms remain.
Chicory is not done yet!
Evening Primrose is going to seed, but its cheerful yellow blooms still peek out here and there.
Lady’s Thumb can still be found blooming in patches.
Thoroughwort is still hanging in there. I think of this wildflower as ‘white Ironweed’, it reminds me so much of that popular late summer bloom.
Snakeroot is more likely to have fuzzy seeds than blooms now.
Three-Lobed Coneflower
Black-Eyed Susan
Helianthus
Horseweed
Obedient Plant (notice some of it is seeding)
Great Lobelia
Fleabane can still be found here and there, though it’s easy to mistake it for Asters this season
Tickseed Sunflower
The lawn plants are less numerous than they were in the summer:
Dandelion
White Clover
Red Clover
Common Plantain
English Plantain
Wood Sorrel
In wetter areas:
Cattails are seeding
In wooded areas:
I’ve seen 2 or 3 different kinds of Nettles.
Here’s some pretty uncommon blooms spotted recently:
Quickweed
Garden Phlox
Wingstem
Ox Eye Daisy
Green Headed Coneflower
White Sweetclover
Self-Heal
Yarrow
Pepperweed
And, since I mentioned it earlier:
Ironweed is brown and fuzzy- most plants are heading in this direction soon!
What a beautiful garden nature serves up!
Very true, Ogee!
I’ve been doing some late October flower hunting too. I haven’t found nearly as many as you have though.
The beginning of October started strong, but the end of the month has a smaller variety of blooms, for sure.
Makes me want to turn the clock back here in Wisconsin….Very nice!
It’s a great season, Joleen!
Beautiful series of late wildflowers.
Thanks Pat! They won’t be with us much longer, unfortunately.
What a great palette of flowers you have served us, Tracy! Many of these are still in bloom here or are in seed head stage. I’m still enjoying the lingering bloom of a mild fall.
Thanks Lynn- I’m glad the autumn included a normal amount of rain, unlike the dry summer!
Beautiful, as always. I’ve been seeing many of these, it’s as if you’ve been walking with Kodiak and I. 🙂
The wildflower season is coming to a close once more, Robin! Something to look forward to in the spring 🙂
Hi Tracy. All is brown here. Looking at your post feels like time-travel! There are a few goldenrods hanging on, but most everything else is snugged in for winter! jane
Jane, it’s getting browner by the day here- it won’t be long until we catch up with you!
I love that last scene. What a great landscape. Thanks for sharing the flowers that we will remember until spring comes.
That’s at the Honda Wetlands, Patti- it’s gradually getting ‘wetter’ there, hopefully it’ll be a normal spring!
Visitng your beautiful blog is like strolling through Mother Nature’s flower shop. I want to take all the beauties home with me. 🙂
Thanks, E.C.! There’s a lot of wonderful scenery to be seen!
A beautiful and fascinating array of plants.
It’ll be 4 months or so before spring blooms are as colorful, Jo!
Amazing how much you still have blooming there!
Those blooms are diminishing late in the month now, montucky, but October started off great!
What a pick-me-up for the fall season…thanks W.S…
You’re welcome, Jim!
Beautiful! Hope you haven’t been hit too hard by the extended hurricane…
Thanks Inger- we had 5 days of overcast skies and on-and-off-again rain here, the wind wasn’t as bad as expected either- we were fortunate.
Love your pics. My wife and I, just retired, are enjoying many of the same views. As fellow nature lovers in Central Ohio we appreciate your efforts.
Thanks centralohionature! I’m enjoying your site and will link to it here!