Do not cover the seeds. Our prairies and Noerenberg Gardens are riots of color in July. Take time to see their beauty. Early August August is a month of light winds, sunny warm weather, and colorful gardens. Canada thistle seeds are ripe.
Goldfinches relish the seeds and use the fluffy parachute silks for nest liners.
The sweet nectar of Bull, Swamp, and Field thistles are banquets for Monarch and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies in August. In early fall these same thistles will provide seed snacks for finches. American Lotus, a rare and protected plant in some of our lakes, begins to bloom in late July and early August. By summer's end the broad flattened seed pod looks like a small circular Chinese checkers board on a stalk held above the water. Each of the holes on the upper surface carries a smooth hard seed about the size of a cherry.