6-29-2026 11:05pm

Summer Wildflowers

Beth Callahan Editor

Nature Close to Home and Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist Dave Woehr shares monthly naturalist stories.

WARREN COUNTY, OH -- I took a ride on some of the roads in Caesar Creek State Park this week and noticed that our carpet of summer wildflowers is starting to make its annual appearance. They are a welcome sight since our spring ephemerals have all gone to sleep for another year.

The flowers I could see from the car are what we might call prairie wildflowers since they grow in sunny openings unobstructed by the heavy shade of tree canopies. Little remains of Ohio’s original prairies because most of them have been destroyed by manipulation of the landscape for the building of cities and the plowing of the ground for farming. But in many areas Ohio prairies have been restored by conservationists and the land has been replanted with the wildflowers that were once original prairie natives.

The prairie wildflowers come in a broad array of bright colors that catch the eye of birds, butterflies, and other insects. They also catch the eye of photographers like me. Most are quite tall and easily seen from the car without having to hike a trail to get a good look. There are literally dozens of species. Too many to list here.

If you visit Caesar Creek State Park, Miller Ecological Park, Mounts Park, Landen Deerfield Park, or many of the nearby others you are almost guaranteed to see a flowering marvel of nature that you will long remember. These blooms will peak in July and August, so I advise getting out to take a gander as soon as you can.

Right now you can see Royal Catchfly,

Compass Plant, Culver’s Root,

Wild Indigo,

Butterfly Milkweed, Sulphur Cinquefoil, Bouncing Bet, Wild Bergamot, Green-headed Coneflower,

Fall Phlox and many others.

To help correctly indentify the wildflowers you encounter blooming now, a copy of the Division of Wildlife’s “Summer Wildflowers of Ohio” field guide will be very helpful. That field guide can be found on line or by clicking here.