A vast array of summer flowers awaits you in our prairies and savannas as a new wave of flowers is beginning to surge.

Rain usually puts out the fire. But in the prairies and savannas, recent water-from-the-sky has become a spark for explosions of wildflowers just in time for the July Fourth weekend.

The brilliant oranges of butterfly weed, the purples of leadplant, and the golds of coreopsis have joined the color palette of the summer prairie.

Pale purple coneflowers, melting blue blossoms, and self-drilling grass seeds are just some of this week’s miracles for you to experience in the wilds of Chicago.

In our prairies and savannas, see the ephemeral forenoon performances of spiderwort’s melting blue flowers. And experience the many white flowers that remain throughout the day, including a plant that will soon smell like barf! Be still my heart.