At this point in the season, the prairie plants native to my corner of Illinois are in various stages of setting seed. Grasses like big and little bluestem and prairie dropseed are in their full glory (and I'm sorry I don't have my little bluestem and prairie dropseed pictured here; I blame the massive storms that hit late yesterday and interrupted my blog photography).
The inflorescences--grasses' version of flowers--are at their peak. Coneflowers, Joe-Pye weed and coreopsis have finished (or are almost finished) flowering. The prairie is in the later stages of its zenith and is full of textures.
The wildflowers that are still in bloom here are the usual suspects for this region: goldenrods and asters. My elm-leaved goldenrods are short, but they're blooming so brightly you can see them from the street. (These pictures were not taken at night, just in the gloom before an impending storm.)
The zig-zag goldenrod is already showing spent flowers and hints of seeds...
...much like the big-leaved aster, which bloomed a lot longer this year than last year.
And my smooth blue asters have made a remarkable comeback this year after some mildew issues last year.
They are a beautiful send-off to a hot, droughty, occasionally soggy, and very vibrant summer!
Wildflower Wednesday is brought to you by Gail of Clay and Limestone--go visit to see more beautiful native plants!
7 comments:
I love these usual suspect wildflowers Rose...My garden would be bereft without them! Zigzag goldenrod is one of my favs. I know it's not a native plant, but have you any Aster tataricus? It really brings on the monarchs here...I can save seed for you. gail
I think the tail end of your storm blew in this morning across Lake Ontario. Zigzag goldenrod is a terrific garden plant - does it colonize for you?
I dug out all of my golden rod last year - but alittle root must have been left as there is one solitary bloom. I really miss that yellow in the garden at this time of year so I'm going to let mine grow again but not take over and then flop like it did before though golden rod is not a native of Scotland.
I was just in IL last weekend looking at lots of prairie plants. Ilike your selection of photos. Zigzag looks a lot like Fireworks which is what I have. Lucky you getting some rain. Our area is still in drought conditions.
I like the usual suspects, they all go so well together. I'm still waiting for my smooth aster to start blooming. That was a wicked storm! I had to go rescue my husband from where he had taken shelter riding his bike home from work.
I love all these fall wildflowers, Rose. We took our visitors last week to the prairie area at a local park, and it was a sea of goldenrod and grasses--just as beautiful in its own way as the coneflowers and sunflowers earlier in the season.
Hope the storm didn't do any damage; we had a wonderful rain here--finally!
We woke up to pots blown over and silver maple branches all over the lawn and patio. The cooler temps are wonderful.
I love the aster and goldenrod combination Rose. Blue and yellow are so pretty together.
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