Photographing Summer Wildflowers in Ohio

Ohio is a great place to photograph summer wildflowers.  The weather in Ohio generally isn’t too hot and a great selection of wildflowers can be found in the numerous county and state parks.

Wildflower Photography Tips

• Get out early.  The wildflowers will still have the morning dew on them and will be less droopy.  I also find just after sunrise to the be most peaceful time of the day.
• Use a tripod.  This will help you to slow down and improve your composition.  It will also help with taking photos in lower lighting conditions in the early morning.
• Use a remote shutter release or shutter release timer on your camera.  This will prevent camera movement when you press the shutter.
• Clean or blurry backgrounds make the best wildflower photos.  Try several apertures to find the right mix of sharp subject and blurred background.

Common Ohio Wildflowers

Below are some of the more common wildflowers I found in my summer hikes through Ohio parks.

Blue Vervain

• Grows in grassy meadows and along streams.
• Blooms from mid summer to early autumn

Birdsfoot Trefoil

• Also called Birdfoot Deervetch and Devil’s Claw.
• Founds in fields, meadows, and along the side of roads.
• Blooms from June – August.
• Canada geese and deer commonly feed on Birdsfoot Trefoil.

Moth Mullein

• Moth Mullein grows in pastures, meadows, and open woods.
• Blooms from June – September.

Chicory

• Very common wildflower.  Grows in sunny areas like fields and roadsides.
• Blooms June – September

Pickerel Rush

• Also called Pickerel weed.
• Grows along the edge of ponds and other areas with moist soils.
• Blooms from June – September.
• Compose your photograph with the pond water as the pond water in the background.  Works well for a clean background and add a great effect as the fog is rising from the pond just after sunrise.

Crown Vetch

• Also called purple vetch
• Invasive plant that likes sunny areas like fields, meadows, and your flower garden.  Used as a ground cover for erosion control.
• Blooms from early summer to late fall

Dames Rocket

• Also called Damask Violet, Dames-wort, summer lilac
• Blooms April – June
• Grows in partial shade so look for Dames Rocket at the edge of the woods or other shady areas.

Bull Thistle

• Common invasive wildflower that grows in sunny places such as fields and pastures.
• Blooms June – October

Yellow Coneflower

• Grows up to 4 foot tall while flowering
• Blooms from early to late summer
• Common in fields, woodland boarders, and along railroad tracks.

Jerusalem Artichoke

• It’s tuber is also cultivated as a root vegetable
• Found in meadows along rivers, woodland borders, thickets, slopes of drainage ditches, and along roadsides and railroads.
• Blooms from late summer into autumn.

Written by Martin Belan

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