This is the Blue Ridge Parkway Wildflower report for late August. Many visitors take this time of the summer to get up on the Parkway before school begins and to escape the sultry weather of the lower elevations.

Late summer is perhaps not the time when most people of interest turn to wildflowers, but for many these late-summer and early-fall blooms are favorites. Visit the Parkway this time of year and decide for yourself.

Many of the fields and meadows of the Parkway are adorned this time of year with tall Joe-Pye Weed with light-colored and purple flowering. Queen Anne’s Lace, Coreopsis, Black-Eyed Susan, and the bright-orange Butterfly Weed are common in most places.

The tall bright purple New York Ironweed is especially common through the Plateau District from Roanoke through Doughton Park.

A few of the specific area reports along the Parkway include the following. At the Peaks of Otter, north of Roanoke, VA, look for Jewel Weed, Ironweed, tall Bellflower, Milkweed, Goldenrod, Queen Anne’s Lace, Black-Eyed Susan, and Woodland Sunflower.

In the Moses Cone Park area in North Carolina you will see Water Lillies and Wild Hydrangea around Bass Lake. Sunflowers around the Linn Cove Viaduct Visitors Center, and Ironweed and Joe-Pye Weed along many of the roadsides.

From Crabtree to Linville Falls, many of the same varities including Jewel Weed, Aster, Ironweed, Joe-Pye Weed, Bull Thistle, and Sumac.

Regular updates for color reports will be posted to our web site home page. You can also use the National Park Service information line at 828-298-0398 to keep informed of what’s being reported on the Parkway.

Have a safe summer’s end on the Blue Ridge Parkway!