Wildflowers of July

The gentleman that impresses his lady with a bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers knows that the month of July is among the best to find a wide selection for the arrangement. Many types of all colors begin to bloom or are just in the midst of blooming in the hot July weather. You will have no problem finding wildflowers in the United States during July, with such types as orange hawkweed, daylilies, butter and eggs and an assortment of blue and purple flowers to choose from.

Orange hawkweed is at its blooming peak in July, a plant you will spy along roadsides and in fields across almost the entire nation with the exception of the lower Great Plains. It is one of some almost 50 species of hawkweed, which is in the Aster family. It has a cluster of flowers that grow on the top of an erect and hairy stem, which as all its leaves at the base. Orange hawkweed can reach 2 feet tall in the largest specimens.

Daylilies, named because they close their flower at night and then open up in the morning, also are in their flowering prime in July. A plant that inhabits the edges of highways and in fields, the daylily came from Asia and spread over most of the East. It can be as tall as 4 feet and grows in bunches, with orange flowers on the long stalk.

Butter and eggs is out in July in force and can provide you with some yellow shades for your arrangement. The flower grows as high as 30 inches but is typically much shorter, around 6 inches. It exists in pastures, urban lots and fields, thriving in large groups. The flower has an orange middle and a yellow outer area and itself looks like a miniature bouquet with its odd shape. It also goes by the name "toadflax."

July's scorching heat may lead you to the water to add the blues and purples to your spray of flowers. Pickerelweed is an erect stalk full of blue flowers that grows in the shallows near shore. It has no value as a food source for wildlife and is an invasive plant, but the flower is attractive. The same is true of purple loosestrife, a choking wed that can dominate a shoreline or wetland. It has purple flowers on arching branches; the flower petals fall off in bunches two or three days after you pick them. You can find a blue flower in July without getting your toes wet in chicory, but remember that it has to be in the water to remain open once you pick it. It has blue flowers up and down its sturdy stalks as high as three feet, growing seemingly everywhere, especially in vacant lots and waste places.

Complete your bunch of flowers with the white of Queen Anne's lace, a wildflower that burst forth in July along paths, dry fields and near highways. It has a flattened head of tiny clusters of flowers that can sometimes be 5 inches wide, growing on stalks that can attain heights of five feet. The purple spot often found in the center looks like a lone bug. However, it is a part of the flower that puzzles botanists as to its purpose, but gives Queen Anne's lace a splash of color.