National Wildflower Week
Part of our $25 for 25 Anniversary Series — explore more stories here.
National Wildflower Week is here, and we’re inviting you to celebrate with us!
We’re celebrating native wildflowers and the landscapes they shape across our state. We’re celebrating 25 years of work to protect and restore them. And we’re celebrating the people who make this work possible — supporters who care deeply about Florida’s natural beauty.
This week, every gift supports our $25 for 25 Campaign, helping ensure we can continue our work for years to come. This work — and this celebration — exist because people choose to be part of it.
This week is also about sharing stories. You’ll hear from our team and our members about favorite wildflowers, favorite places to see them and hopes for what the next 25 years could bring. Together, they reflect something we see every day: this work belongs to all of us.
Get to know Team Wildflower
Starting on Tuesday, May 4, through Thursday, May 7, we’ll be sharing our team’s top wildflowers, places to see them, and hopes for the next 25 years!
Our members inspire change
Our members inspire our work and make change by sharing their love of Florida’s wildflowers! Explore their favorite blooms and places to see them below.
Janet Bowers
Favorite wildflower: I love all the native milkweeds (Asclepias sp.); it’s impossible to pick just one. There are so many, and they bloom throughout the seasons.
Favorite places to see wildflowers: I love to see the swaths of color that appear one to six months after a burn. Roadsides in Apalachicola National Forest, Goethe State Forest, or walking into the prairie at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park all come to mind.
Why are wildflowers important? Wildflowers in natural lands and ditches are a beautiful gift to the human eye and part of the life cycle for numerous non-humans.
Photo: Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) by Janet Bowers
Margaret Christense
Favorite wildflower: Spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata)
Favorite places to see wildflowers: I have planted Spotted beebalm and many other native wildflowers. My garden is my little piece of heaven.
Why are wildflowers important? There are so many reasons wildflowers are important — because they are native, they withstand the heat and weather, require less water, and are the best for our birds, butterflies and bees. Also, they just make me happy.
Photo: Spotted beebalm by Madge C
Caroline Connolly
Favorite wildflower: My new favorite wildflower is Mullein nightshade (Solanum donianum). It’s blooming at the Gordon River Greenway in Naples.
Favorite place to see wildflowers: My favorite is Highland Hammocks State Park. The variety of habitats there means you can always find something in bloom.
Why are wildflower important: Natural beauty is in short supply, and wildflowers help alleviate the loss of wilderness in our state.
Photo: Mullein nightshade (Solanum donianum) by Caroline Connolly
Brooker Creek Preserve
Favorite wildflower: This year? Florida bellflower (Campanula floridana). Unassuming, but vitally important to one of our native bees found nowhere else, the Cellophane bee (Colletes titusensis), which may feed on nothing else!
Favorite place to see wildflowers: Brooker Creek Preserve in Tarpon Springs.
Why are wildflowers important? Wildflowers are such a wonderful gateway to conservation for so many people. Learning a wildflower’s name can lead one to learn more information about that species. Once that connection is made, a desire to protect the species and all the other organisms that depend on it may follow.
Photo: Florida bellflower with Cellophane bee by Clint Gibson
Regina Doherty
Favorite wildflower: Having come here from New Jersey, I fell in love with Florida’s wildflowers because there are thousands of them — all more unique and beautiful than the other. It doesn’t seem fair to name just one, but a few of my favorites are Florida greeneyes (Berlandiera subacaulis) and Cardinalflower (Lobelia cardinalis).
Favorite places to see wildflowers: Wekiva Springs, Peace River Botanical & Sculptural Gardens — and my own yard!
Why are wildflowers important? I love the colors and pollinators they bring to a landscape. There’s nothing more peaceful than to sit in the sun, look at the multitude of colors, listen to the buzzing, and marvel at how butterflies and other pollinators make life possible.
Photo: Cardinalflower (Lobelia cardinalis) by Eleanor Dietrich
Jacqueline Ferber
For Mother’s Day, my daughter took me on the Foundation’s Wildflower Farm Field Day to Terry Zinn’s Farm. The tour was wonderful, and she packed a picnic lunch for us to have there. It was one of the best Mother’s Days ever!
Favorite place to see wildflowers: San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park, in the spring and fall, it is just beautiful.
Why are wildflowers important? Seeing flowers blooming in the wild brings happiness to my heart!
Ortrud Forster
Favorite wildflower: Our state wildflower, Coreopsis spp.
Favorite places to see wildflowers: Any of the outstanding field trips I have attended through the Foundation! The Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve and Wildflower Farm Field Day were favorites!
Why are wildflowers important? As a young child in Germany, my grandfather took me for walks in the fields near our house. I learned the names of all the meadow flowers and about their medicinal properties. I like learning about wildflowers here through field trips, and others are like old friends that I know from my childhood far away.
Photo: Lanceleaf tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) by OF
Debra Mackey
Favorite wildflower: Florida paintbrush (Carphephorus corymbosus). They are like me, they favor the quiet places — the dry, open habitats where longleaf pines stand tall and spaced apart, letting sunlight spill freely to the ground.
Favorite place to see wildflowers: I enjoy seeing wildflowers on my daily walks in Pine Ridge and in my native garden.
Why are wildflowers important? Wildflowers represent the wild and free parts of our land; they thrive even when neglected. Each species has its own unique beauty and holds the key to supporting our precious pollinators.
Photo: Florida paintbrush with Gulf fritillary by Debra Mackey
Theresa Nelis
Favorite wildflower: Sunflowers (Helianthus spp.)
Favorite place to see wildflowers: My yard and all over America.
Why are wildflowers important? Life is so peaceful sitting in a wildflower garden, knowing that God created all of this for us to enjoy and for the insects to survive on.
Photo: Florida sunflower (Helianthus floridanus) by Emily Bell
Anna Siatkowski
Favorite wildflower: Milkweed (Asclepias sp.)! The flowers are so beautiful, and it’s so fun to see all the caterpillars that come around.
Favorite place to see wildflowers: My garden!
Why are wildflowers important? Biodiversity
Photo: Longleaf milkweed (Asclepias longifolia) flowers by Emily Bell
Deepen your impact
Whether you give $25 to celebrate Wildflower Week, $250 to deepen your impact or $2,500 to help invest in the next 25 years, every gift helps native wildflowers — and people and pollinators who depend on them — thrive.