Spring is in full swing and summer is just around the corner – making it the perfect time to see all of the flowers that are native to our beautiful state.

The sweet coneflower – which can be found statewide – is known for its faintly sweet, anise-scented flowers. It puts out bright yellow flowers with dark centers and blooms from mid-summer until the first frost. The sweet coneflower’s seeds and blossoms are nutritious to goldfinches and other songbirds as well as butterflies and bees.

A popular flower in the northern part of Illinois is the white heath aster, which get its name from the Greek and Latin words for star. It is characterized by its lilting, fine-leaved stems with small white flowers with yellow centers. This flower blooms from July through September and is great for the bees. The white health aster grows throughout the state in prairies, old fields and pastures.

The dooryard violet is a part of the violet species, which is the Illinois state flower. It blooms in early spring and can be found in many backyards throughout central Illinois. Dooryard violet is a lovely groundcover, known to be medicinal, edible and good for pollinators.

White trillium is characterized by its three green leaves and three white petals with a small yellow center. It flowers from late April through June and is usually found in large patches in the forests of southern Illinois.

Make sure to put on your sunscreen and get outside while flowers are in full bloom. Click here for a list of flower farms across the state.