Saturday, July 6, 2013

July 5, 2013 - And Let's Not Forget the Purples, Yellows, and Pinks!

Fleabane

Elephant head pedicularis

Checker mallow

Cinquefoil

Rosy pussytoes

Oregon sunshine

Shooting star

Sulfur buckwheat
Big-pod mariposa lily

????

Wood's rose

We did, of course, see flowers of other colors on our trip through Oregon and Idaho.  Above are a few samples.  A few of these (the mariposa, the buckwheat, the shooting star) were found in huge masses in some spots.  Others, like the one I can't identify, were found in one place, and one place only.
 
A bit of history might help you understand my love of wildflowers.  When I was a child, we spent our summers living in the Cascades, where Dad worked for the Forest Service.  We were surrounded by plants like these, and my parents took great delight in identifying them, and teaching us what they were.  Mom's favorite, I think, was twin-flower, because of her Swedish heritage.  (They're named, in Latin, after a Swedish botanist.)  I don't know that Dad had a favorite - he simply loved things of beauty, loved the outdoors, and bequeathed those loves to all his children.  So my work here is a continuation of what my parents taught me, as a child, to treasure as a wonderful gift.

No comments:

Post a Comment