Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Plese read this previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer on wildflowers for bridal bouquet in Baraboo, WI.

Bayfield and Douglas Counties are side-by-side in the northwest corner of Wisconsin. The USDA Hardiness Zones for those counties range from 3a to 4a, meaning the average annual minimum temperature can range from -35 to -25 deg. F. You understand that we don't personally check out the sites we are asked about, but rely on our Native Plant Database and the information in the USDA Plant Profiles for each plant. A site that had a certain wildflower on it when the USDA maps were made might have a shopping center on it now, and in another area the landowners may be mowing and not allowing the flowers to go to seed. We will give you a list by going to our Recommended Species, clicking on  Wisconsin on the map, "herbs" under Habit or General Appearance and checking on July for month of bloom. For each plant we select, we will check to see if it grows in those two counties. Rain or the lack of same, insects, and urbanization can easily affect whether any of those flowers are in bloom in July. Of the 49 herbaceous blooming plants we got from this search, only 8 attractive enough for a wedding bouquet, which we assume this is for, grew that far north in Wisconsin. 

We would suggest that you contact the Bayfield and Douglas County University of Wisconsin Extension Offices; they may very well maintain such a list, and much closer to home. We also suggest you contact the Botanical Club of Wisconsin, Wisconsin's Native Plant Society. They, too, may have better informed and more up-to-date lists of what you are looking for. Follow each plant link to our webpage on that individual plant to learn more about its color and size.

Wildflowers Blooming in July in Bayfield and Douglas Counties, Wisconsin:

Chamerion angustifolium ssp. angustifolium (fireweed)

Lilium philadelphicum (wood lily)

Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot)

Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan)

Thalictrum dasycarpum (purple meadow-rue)

Zizia aurea (golden zizia)

Verbena hastata (swamp verbena)

Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant)

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

Chamerion angustifolium ssp. angustifolium

Lilium philadelphicum

Monarda fistulosa

Rudbeckia hirta

Thalictrum dasycarpum

Zizia aurea

Verbena hastata

Silphium perfoliatum