July brings temps in the 90's. By now, many of my favorite wildflowers are long gone. Fortunately, there are many heat tolerant wildflowers. Unfortunately, plants that have been designated as noxious weeds are also flourishing - like common Mullein and thistles!
Red Rocks Trail, Morrison
One of my favorite wildflowers that is in full bloom in July is Beebalm. On the Red Rocks Trail, I took my first photograph of Field Milkvetch. I also saw a lot of Prairie Coneflowers and Prairie Clover flowers.
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| Beebalm |
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| Field Milkvetch |
Green Mountain, Lakewood
What a difference a few weeks makes! The wildflowers were not as abundant in July but the prairie grasses were getting really tall. There were a lot of Gumweed plants, Prairie Sunflowers and Prairie Coneflowers along the trail. I saw my first red coneflower. For the first time, I also saw a white and sometimes lavender colored bushy plant called Diffuse Knapweed. Other varieties of wildflowers at Green Mountain in July include Showy Milkweed, Stickseed Forget-Me-Not and Goldenrod.
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| Prairie Coneflower |
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| Prairie Sunflowers |
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| Diffuse Knapweed - noxious weed |
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| Prairie Clover |
Lair O' the Bear
At Lair O' the Bear, a few Fireweed wildflowers were blooming next to Bear Creek. I also saw a yellow wildflower that I wasn't familiar with next to a rock. I have since seen it on a few other trails and learned that it is known as Nodding Senecio or Bashful Ragwort, evidently because the blooms have a closed appearance.
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| Fireweed |
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| Nodding Senecio |
Apex, Golden
The hills on the lower trails at Apex Park were covered with golden grasses in late July. There were lots of Foothills Arnica, Gumweed, Goldenrod, Nodding Onions, Mariposa Lilies and
Blazingstars (Ten-Petal Mentzelia). I also saw one Four O'Clock flower and one Gayfeather.
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| Blazingstar |
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