Left to right: Viburnum • Rudbeckia • Lobelia • Goldenrod • Milkweed

One thing for sure, we have LOTS of country roads in Warren County, so we also have a vast collection of wild beauties to admire. The changing of the seasons from spring to high summer brings a selection of delicate blossoms in subtle colors. Queen Ann’s Lace dominates the summer fields. She’s accompanied by bee balm, late phlox, larkspur, and a few lingering strands of chickory. The dominant hues range from white to soft lavendars to deep blues. You’ll catch a flicker of bright gold, though, if you’re paying attention. That’s the black-eyed Susan, a native that is now a popular landscape perennial known by its botanical name Rudbeckia. An under-appreciated beauty is the milkweed flower (aesclepias). Its orchid-color florets form a velvety ball of color that is attractive not only to butterflies, but bees (right in front in the photo above) and horse flies (there were a couple of BIG ones on the back of this flower). The monarch’s larvae will only eat milkweed leaves.

With our proximity to the prairie reagion we have a wide range of grasses that grow in meadows and along the roadsides. Some of them aren’t so welcome, but some are quite stunning. I’m a fan of reed canary grass, which has a tall, straight, compact seed cluster in a nice tan color. Switch grass is a slightly taller grass with an airy, delicate seed head. This is the same grass that is being studied for biodiesel production. (Wouldn’t it be great if they could do that with crab grass?)

Most of the summer flowering is in the form of plants, but there are a few shrubs that deserve attention. The native viburnum (photo above left) was captured just on the Warren County side of the New Bridge, growing out of the bedrock exposed by the road cut. Look for viburnum in shady, woodsy locations. Elderberry is just about to show the clusters of purple berries that give the plant its name. Sumac is flowering now, too. The local species is staghorn sumac, and you’ll recognize it by the rusty brown flower spikes above the compound leaf groups. It’s a nice shrub that really shows its stuff in autumn.

Speaking of autumn, it's rapidly creeping up on us. The goldenrod and native sunflowers are blooming, bringing the color palette to the golds, oranges and browns of late September and October. Check back later on in the month and we'll have leaf-peeper reports so you’ll know when to head out for a scenic drive through the county. We’re planning a Wander along the backroads with an eye to fall color.

Here is a tip if you want to take photos of flowers: go in the morning or early evening. The high sun in the middle of the day burns the color out of the flowers. You’ll get better hue and contrast when the light hits the blooms at an angle.

And watch out for poison ivy!

Jeannie B
Links to plants in this article will take you to the Illinois Natural History Survey
at the University of Illinois web site.