Whatever could possibly be blooming in August, when the hills are dry and brown and the last of spring’s seeds are blowing in the wind. Our native wildflowers never disappoint, and one of these late bloomers is madia (Madia elegans), also known as showy tarweed, an inelegant name for a spunky, most definitely showy, wildflower that grows in dry clay soils late in the summer. Yes, tarweeds are known for the aromatic, sticky resin that grows on the leaves and stem, so not a good candidate for cut flowers!
It was Charlotte Torgovitsky, another habitat gardening educator and enthusiast, who first introduced me to madia many years ago. An impressive stand of this tall (3-5 ft.) bright yellow wildflower was growing along the driveway in her lovely Novato garden and I loved it immediately. So you can imagine my delight when I recently found fields of it growing on top of a ridge in west Marin. (There is also a coastal version of madia that I look for along the Kortum trail near Jenner.)
Madia is a butterfly’s late summer feast; later, its seeds are a rich food source for finches and other seed-eaters. If you don’t have a dry meadow, try madia in a large container.
You can buy seeds from Charlotte’s nursery in Novato (homegroundhabitats.org). And California Flora nursery is a good source for plants.
Nancy Bauer is the Co-founder of the Habitat Corridor Project and author of the California Wildlife Habitat Garden (UC Press). https://www.amazon.com/California-Wildlife-Habitat-Garden-Butterflies/dp/0520267818 or request it at your local bookstore!