Discover Wildflowers Right Outside Your Door

You can find wildflowers just about anywhere, at your local park, in your backyard, in fields and forests, and along roadsides. Not only are they nice to look at, but can be food for wildlife, including pollinators. Wildlife may eat the leaves, flowers, seeds or stems.

Below are some species of native wildflowers:

butterfly weed – orange flowers, found in dry fields throughout summer
wild blue lupine – blue/purple flowers, found in dry, sandy areas from late spring to summer
selfheal – light purple flowers, found on lawns, fields, and roadsides from late spring to fall
black-eyed susan – yellow/orange flowers, look in dry to moist open areas from summer to fall
jack in the pulpit – green and purple striped hood, grows in moist woods from spring to early summer

Want to know more about a certain species? Look up specific wildflowers on the New York Flora Atlas website.

Try planting wildflowers in your backyard. Choose native species whenever possible.

Photo of wild blue lupine by Marcelo del Puerto.