What you see is a prairie flower called Queen of the Prairie.”
My Aunt Louise Stevens, a maiden school teacher, gave them to my mother several decades ago…probably in the 1970’s.
They survived the tearing down of the garage and I have transplanted them around the yard. They do best in a lot of sun.
They usually bloom in the first week of July in Crystal Lake, but maybe my memory is again faulty, because some are beginning to bloom this week.
I think they are the most beautiful flower in our yard.
And, for years, I thought they were blue.
Come to find out, when I mentioned how pretty the blue flowers were, my wife told me they were pink.
My colorblindness strikes again.
It must be a beautiful world out there for those who can see the full range of colors.