Boom in Blooms: Wild flowers thrive in area this summer

A bumper crop of wild flowers this summer greets country travelers with splashes of fiery orange, lavender, white and gold. Dennis Stimart, UW–Madison horticulture professor, says two straight years of exceedingly mild Wisconsin winters are helping native wild flowers run wild.

“Wild flowers are probably performing at their optimal point right now,” Stimart says. “The stage was set with two mild winters, plus the wet early growing season we’ve had this spring.”

In full bloom this time of year are bright orange tiger lilies and butterfly weed; deep rose-colored fire weed; delicate white Queen Anne’s Lace; yellow compass plants; lavender chicory and wild geraniums. Blackeyed Susans and purple cone flowers are just around the corner. Particularly impressive right now are Queen of the Prairie flowers, with 6-foot tall stems that produce hundreds of rose-colored flowers.

Stimart says the efforts in Dane County toward increasing green space, expanding public lands and restoring natural areas means native prairie flowers will become a much bigger part of our local landscape.