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It's wildflower season - get out and explore. Find emerging elegant patches of early spring color as native wildflowers unfurl their gentle blooms. Their dazzling show of spring color is only a limited engagement, so take time to see the flowers before they are gone.
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| Report Date | Area | Description of Woodland Wildflower Blooms |
|---|---|---|
| 5/3/2025 | Northern Iowa | Common violet and white trout lily blooms are abundant at Fort Defiance State Park in Emmet County. Bloodroot is at the end of its blooming period. Star-flowered lily-of-the-valley has budded, but not yet blooming. Jack-in-the-pulpit is emerging.
Look for spring beauty, false rue anemone, wood anemone, bluebells, mayapples, Dutchmen’s breeches, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, trout lily, bellwort, red trillium and marsh marigolds in Floyd County.
Bluebells are in full bloom at George Wyth State Park in Black Hawk County. Find Dutchman’s breeches, phlox, false rue anemone, yellow and blue violets, and trout lily.Bluebells are in full bloom at Katoski Greenbelt. Look for ramps, buttercups, spring beauty, trout lily, Dutchman’s Breeches, mayapples, phlox, yellow and blue violets, wild strawberry, and star-flowered lily of the valley.
Best parks in Buchanan County to find woodland wildflowers are Fontana, Jakway, Cortright, Wehner Woods, Grover, Boies Bend, and Anderson Addition. Look for Jack-in-the-pulpit, bluebells, wild ginger, common blue violets, yellow violets, pussytoes, narrow leaf puccoon, toothwort, phlox, shooting star, spring beauty, dutchman’s breeches, wood anemone, false rue anemone, wild geranium, wild strawberry, starry false solomon’s seal, large flowered bellwort, yellow bellwort, Jacob’s ladder, buttercup, a few last bloodroot, mayapple buds, sedges, and waterleaf. Wild plum, gooseberry, American black currant, and black raspberry or flowering. Find non-native dandelion, chickweed, creeping charlie, honeysuckle, and crabapples. Marsh marigolds and golden Alexander are blooming in the north section of Rowley Fen. A large section of shooting star is blooming in the central part of Bryantsburg Prairie. |
| 4/30/2025 | Central Iowa | Look for wild geranium, wild columbine, false coffee and paintbrush in Jackson County.
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| 5/5/2025 | Southern Iowa | Bluebells, woodland phlox, mayapples, and Jacob's ladder are blooming in Marion County. Chokecherry, nannyberry, and hawthorn shrubs are blooming.
Spring beauty, trout lily, bellwort, Jack-in-the-pulpit, phlox, violets, pussytoes, and mayapples are blooming in Appanoose County. Find catmint, bedstraw, and green dragon leaves. Sweet cicely is getting blooms. You can still find some Dutchmen’s breeches blooms, but very few.
Spring beauty, common blue violet, yellow violet, prairie trillium, and garlic mustard are still abundant, but almost played out in Henry County and Des Moines County. Poison Ivy is fully leafed out. Woodland blue phlox is a bit past its prime. Rue anemone, wild geranium, bastard toadflax, Bishop’s cap, Spring avens, and swamp buttercup are still strong. Butterweed is gaining strength. New blooms this week are plantain-leaved pussytoes, yellow star grass, showy orchis, prairie ragwort, columbine, mayapple, Lily of the valley, Indian paintbrush, sweet cicely, and white clover in your yard. Philadelphia fleabane blooms are just opening up.
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| 5/5/2025 | Western Iowa | Find Virginia waterleaf, nettles and ramps leaves. violets, sweet William, spring beauty, Dutchman’s breeches, trout lily and lilac at Moorehead Park in Ida County. Plums, cherries, and crabapple trees are blooming.
Starry false Solomon’s seal, blue cohosh, wild columbine, Virginia bluebells and Jack-in-the-Pulpit are blooming in Woodbury County woodlands.Sioux City Prairie in the Loess Hills has plenty of blue-eyed grass, prairie violets, and ground plum blooming. Prairie dandelions are also blooming. Chokecherry and Autumn olive trees are blooming.
Choke cherry is blooming across Western Iowa. Find ephemerals such as spring beauty, woodland phlox, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and some remaining Dutchman’s breeches and trout lily in most western counties.
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Keep It Clean, Keep It Fun for Everyone
Iowa DNR encourages all outdoor enthusiasts to pick up litter as they go with free reusable litter cleanup bags. The quick drying mesh bags fit easily in your kayak hatch, bike bag, picnic basket, tacklebox, car trunk or backpack.
You can pick up two litter bags at sites across Iowa. Find a pick-up site close to you. We recommend that you call first to make sure they are open and have bags available. New locations will be added to the map monthly, so keep checking back.
Back to topWhich wildflowers will you discover this week?
Wildflowers are enticing treasures for wilderness lovers each year. One of the most encouraging signs of spring, the first wildflowers seem to bloom overnight.
Early spring wildflowers are commonly called ephemerals, which means “short-lived.” They utilize a short time window when sunlight bathes the forest floor before tree leaves emerge to shade them out. It's a smart ecological adaptation and pretty, too.
Wildflowers can be found by simply walking, or biking along trails, on a hike through a local or Iowa state park or just driving slowly along a county road. It's illegal to pick wildflowers in public conservation areas, so take a photo or sketch your finds and leave the plants untouched.
Spotting secretive wildflowers is a refreshing, unique spring activity for the whole family. Get outside this spring and see what you can find. Please take only pictures and leave the flowers for others to enjoy!
Common Spring Wildflowers
Wildflowers come in countless varieties and yet can be so fleeting. They sprinkle wild landscapes with color and send subtle fragrances into the nearby air.
Look for these common Iowa spring wildflowers.
- Bloodroot
- Common blue violet
- Dutchman’s breeches
- Jack-in-the-pulpit
- Rue anemone
- Shooting star
- Snow trillium
- Speckled Phlox (wild sweet William)
- Spring beauty
- Virginia bluebells
- White trout lily
- Wild columbine
- Wild geranium
Bring Your Camera
Spring colors are popping up across Iowa. Here are easy wildflower photography tips:
- Avoid full, direct sunlight which can wash out colors. Early and late times of day yields dramatic side lighting.
- Overcast days are best with soft and even light that contrasts nicely against saturated or delicate wildflower colors.
- Moisture can help give photos interest. Shoot during light mist, or after a light rain. Droplets on leaves and flowers add interest.
- Get down low for better flower photos. People are used to standing eye-level views.
- For more dramatic photos, change the perspective and get down to flower level.
- Wear old clothes or bring something to lay on to get down on a knee or your belly to create more interesting images taken from a ground-perspective.
Resources
Ready to increase your wildflower activities and knowledge? These resources can help!
Wildflower Books & Guides
- Wildflowers of Iowa Woodlands by Sylvan Runkel and Alvin Bull
- Iowa Trees & Wildflowers: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Plants by James Kavanagh
- Wildflowers of the Midwest: Your Way to Easily Identify Wildflowers by Stan Tekiela
- A Peterson Field Guide To Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-central North America by Margaret McKenny and Roger Tory Peterson
- Wildflowers of the Midwest: A Field Guide to Over 600 Wildflowers in the Region by Don Kurz
- Wildflowers of Southeastern Iowa -Volume 1 Spring by Don Weiss
Online Resources
- Celebrating Wildflowers - Just for Kids(U.S. Forest Service)
- Native Woodland Flowers for the Home Garden (ISU Extension)
- Iowa’s Spring Wildflowers (Iowa Association of Naturalists)
- Wildflowers of the United States Database
- Iowa Native Plant Society
- Native Plants Database (Iowa Living Roadway Trust Fund)
- Leave Wildlife Babies in the Wild
- Nature BINGO
Fun Family Outdoor Activities
- A Poem's Hunt
- Animal Signs Hike
- Birding Guide in Iowa
- Create Your Own Nature Journal
- Habitat Scavenger Hunt
- Look for Nature Hunt
Baby Wildlife - Leave them alone!
If you see wildlife babies on their own, let them be. Their parents know best, and most wildlife leave nests or dens well in advance of being able to care for themselves. Although broods or litters may become widely scattered during this fledgling period, they still remain under the direct care and feeding of their parents.
Not only is taking in wildlife illegal, it can often doom the creature you're trying to save. If you see injured, sick or wildlife in need, reach out to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Back to topTick Safety & Protection
- More than a dozen tick species are found in Iowa, but three are most common: Blacklegged (deer tick), dog tick (wood tick), and the lone star tick. Ticks are active March through November in Iowa.
- Prevention is best. Protect yourself from ticks by:
- Wearing long-sleeve shirts and long pants tucked into socks
- Wearing light colored clothes, which makes finding ticks easier.
- Using repellent containing DEET
- Adding permethrin repellents on clothing per label
Checking for ticks while you're out and once you're home
How to Remove Ticks
- If you find yourself outdoors without tweezers and need to remove a tick:
- Use fine weight fishing line, thread or floss tied into a simple overhand knot.
- Gently tighten the knot around the head of the tick.
- Slowly pull the ends of the line to tighten the knot and pull out the tick.
- Always check your body and hair after spending time outdoors and remove ticks as soon as possible.