Ozarkedge Wildflowers is a photographicrecord of the native plants of northeastern Arkansas. We track what’s in bloom across the property through the seasons — putting a name to each flower, noting where it grows, and learning how it fits into the Ozark landscape.
The plant index is the heart of it: a growing library of profiles, each paired with original field photography and notes on bloom time, habitat, and the pollinators that depend on it.
Glade flowers in Spring
Where we are
Rooted in the Ozark Highlands
Ozarkedge sits along the eastern edge of the Ozark Plateaus, where the Salem and Springfield plateaus and the Boston Mountains break apart into the lowlands of the Mississippi Delta. That meeting of highland and bottomland makes our corner of Arkansas unusually rich in native plant life.
The Ozark Plateaus of northern Arkansas & southern Missouri — our corner sits along the southeastern edge, where highland meets delta.
Our Story
How We Started
The place I call Ozarkedge has been in my family for several generations. I spent many weekends and vacations as a girl discovering its grasslands, glades and woodlands. I was curious about all nature, but especially the wildflowers.
Learning the native wildflowers of Ozarkedge
Years later, my husband and I started carving out trails through the woods for hiking and horseback riding. We lived in the city and traveled here on weekends.
Horseback and hiking trail
Finally we decided the time was right to move and build our home on the land we loved. The fields had not been managed for many years and were thickly covered with Eastern Red Cedar. The rocky glades had been invaded by Cedar and other invasive plants and were too shaded and crowded to flower. In the past, parts of the land had supported sheep and cattle, but much of it was too rough and rocky for grazing animals and that was left alone.
As we began work to restore the property, we found numerous invasive species such as Sericea lespedeza, Tall fescue, Trifoliate orange, Japanese honeysuckle, among others. But, there were also many beautiful native wildflowers, trees and shrubs. Our goal was to rehabilitate the land, protect native plants on site and return the rest to native flora to support wildlife, birds and insects.
What a job it was to clear our homesite, not to mention the surrounding habitat. We realized it was more than we could manage alone and hired someone to help clear a few acres around our homesite.
Removing Ceder and invasives at homesite
Culling cedar trees with chainsaw
Restoring rocky glade
Sorting through existing flora
We were constantly studying how to rehabilitate the land, returning grassland back to prairie habitat and restoring glades and woods while protecting the existing native plants as much as possible. I was already documenting the many native wildflowers present on the property and had started this website at the beginning of 2008. It was an exciting time as the more I looked, the more native wildflowers I found! Below is a tiny sample of the native wildflowers I cataloged during this period.
Spigelia marylandica (Indian Pink)
Delphinium carolinianum (Carolina larkspur)
False aloe (Manfreda virginica)
Ozark sunflower (Helianthus silphioides)
Purple false foxglove (Agalinis fasciculata)
Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Purple trillium (Trillium recurvatum)
Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
As we progressed and the land began to heal, we found more native wildflowers blooming. We gathered local seed from roadsides and other sites with permission. Lastly, we purchased some local seed from a reputable nursery to increase diversity.
As more and more native wildflowers bloomed and the natural habitat grew, the diversity of birds and wildlife increased.
Buck in rutting season
Doe and fawn in prairie habitat
Turkey foraging in grassland
Goldfinch eating seeds of Gray headed coneflower
Suffice it to say that land rehabilitation is a lifelong commitment. We've learned so much along the way and continue to learn. It's hard work! But what a joy to see the results!
