September is a Super Time to See Wildflowers at Eagle Marsh!

A cluster of black-eyed Susan flowers add to the yellow color that dominates among prairie wildflowers along Trail 8 at Eagle Marsh off Engle Road.

People usually think of Spring as the season of flowers. Nature throws off the drab cloak of winter and puts on a colorful show.

But late summer and early fall equal or surpass it in habitats such as Eagle Marsh and Arrowhead Prairie. The prairie plants in Little River Wetlands Project’s (LRWP) nature preserves sleep in longer in the Spring and really don’t get growing until the warm days of Summer.

That makes September a perfect time to visit LRWP nature preserves to see prairie areas blooming at their peaks.

Make a day of it by coming out for the annual Monarch Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Eagle Marsh barn, 6801 Engle Road.

You can see monarch butterflies at different stages of their life cycle, tag monarchs being released, and learn more about monarchs and native pollinators. You also can take home a milkweed plant — the only plant monarch caterpillars eat — to add to your garden. Adult admission is $3, and children and LRWP members enter free.

WHERE TO GO

Wildflowers already light up portions of Trail 8 at Eagle Marsh on Engle Road. In September, the area around the trail should become a sea of yellow blooms. (By Kevin Kilbane)

You don’t have to wait for Monarch Festival, though, to get out and enjoy the beauty of late-summer and prairie wildflowers. Many are blooming now at LRWP nature preserves. The floral fireworks keep building over the next few weeks.

To experience the most dazzling wildflowers, LRWP’s Aly Munger, wetland educator, and Charles Sifferlen, preserve and volunteer steward, both recommend Trail 8 at Eagle Marsh.

The trail “is magical this time of year,” Aly said. “It moves through the restored prairie, and there are usually plenty of blooming wildflowers to see as you make your way back toward the Eagle Marsh barn.

“By the time Monarch Festival rolls around, the Barn Lane (which Preserve Steward Don Cunningham is VERY proud of) and Trail 8 should be especially incredible, with the sawtooth sunflowers creating a sea of yellow,” she continued. “You should also be able to find goldenrod, tall ironweed, New England asters and tall boneset still blooming. Even some of the summer flowers that have already gone to seed add a lot of texture to the landscape.”

Because of that beauty, LRWP likes to use Trail 8 as the “scenic route” people can take to Monarch Festival activities at the Eagle Marsh barn after they park on Engle Road, Charles said.

Goldenrod, foreground, is starting to bloom at Little River Wetland Project’s Arrowhead Prairie along Aboite Road. Trail 1 and the inner part of Trail 2 should offer the best September wildflower viewing. (By Kevin Kilbane)

Aly also recommends visiting Arrowhead Prairie on Aboite Road, “as it’s sort of a hidden gem. I think the prairie there can sometimes get overlooked, but Trail 1 and the inner Trail 2 should have a lot of those same late-summer wildflowers blooming (as Eagle Marsh). You may not see quite as many sawtooth sunflowers there, if any, but there should still be plenty of goldenrod, asters, ironweed and other prairie flowers.”

SOOTHE THE SENSES

A butterfly sits on a cup plant flower along the combined section of Trails 2 and 3 at Arrowhead Prairie along Aboite Road. Visitors should find great wildflower viewing on the inner portion of Trail 2. (By Kevin Kilbane)

Out on the trails, Nature encourages you to slow down and enjoy the moment: A monarch and bee dance around each other as they tussle over who gets to feed on a particular flower. A pair of butterflies sun themselves on a cup plant as all around them honey bees, bumblebees and small bees buzz from flower to flower collecting pollen. Wildflowers reveal their intricate designs as they soak up the sun.

Walking along Trail 8 on a recent day inspires a sense of wonder. Many plants stand 6 to 8 feet tall. Along narrow portions of the path, you enter a quiet space where life’s concerns temporarily drift off to the distance. You also get a feel for what it must have been like for indigenous people and early settlers to find their way through such dense vegetation while traveling or hunting.

You get a similar feeling while hiking at Arrowhead Prairie, where the equally tall big bluestem grass forms a swaying backdrop to blooming wildflowers.

It’s an extra special time to visit LRWP nature preserves. Get out to enjoy it!