Listen Along:
This time of year, visitors to the Blue Ridge Parkway can expect to see many of the common summer varieties of our beautiful blooming flowers. Click on a specific wildflower to learn where along the Parkway it can be found (by milepost), what it looks like, and more.
Turk’s Cap Lily can be found blooming from Linville Falls to the North Carolina Minerals Museum.
In Virginia, at the far northern end of the Parkway, we are seeing Black-Eyed Susans, Common Milkweed, Bladder Campion, Butter-and-Eggs, Red Clover, Black Cohosh, Daisy Fleabane, Spreading Dogbane, Tall Anemone, Rosinweed, Flowering Spurge, Common Elderberry, Smooth Sumac, Pokeweed, Apple Trees, Wild Bergamot, Yarrow, Coreopsis, Mullein, Spotted Knapweed, Queen Anne’s Lace, and common St. John’s Wort all blooming.
In North Carolina, a few last Rosebay Rhododendrons are blooming with lovely white to pink blooms, from the Moses Cone area south towards the Linn Cove Viaduct. Phlox, Cutleaf Coneflower, Yellow Jewelweed, White Beebalm, and Queen Anne’s Lace can also be seen blooming in the area.
From Linville Falls towards the Minerals Museum, blooms of Black-Eyed Susan, Beebalm, Black Cohosh, Butterfly Weed, Coreopsis, Garden Phlox, Milkweed, Rosebay Rhododendron, Morning Glory, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Turk’s Cap Lily can all be seen.
In the Craggy Gardens area through Asheville, we have blooming Black-Eyed Susan, Yarrow, Queen Anne’s Lace, Oxeye Daisy, Wild Hydrangea, Black Cohosh, White Bergamot, Beebalm, Daisy Fleabane, Spiderwort, Doddervine, Mullein, Cutleaf Coneflower, Turk’s Cap Lily, Common Milkweed, Morning Glory, Blazing Star, Mountain St. John’s Wort, and Sourwood trees.
Mullein forms dozens of bright yellow blooms on each tall stem.
At the Southern end of the Parkway, there are blooms of Coreopsis, Vibernum, Turk’s Cap Lilies, Beebalm, Phlox, Black-eyed Susan, Mountain St. John’s Wort, Fire Pink, Black Cohosh, Fly Poison, and Rosebay Rhododendron.
The Parkway is a beautiful place to spend your summer, but it is not like most other roads, so take some special precautions while driving. Above all, slow down and take your time. Enjoy the view, but watch the road.