Oh, lordy, I was in heaven today, June 1, 2010. Several of my absolute favorite wildflowers were in bloom today – mostly, these are summer wildflowers, or that’s when I normally see several of them. But the delicate beauty is easy to miss among the tall brown grasses. Not today – and not for me. Once I saw the first one, heading down my driveway, I was on a mission.
Okay, this first one, the Calochortus albus, or Fairy Lantern, I featured a few days ago, but they are really going off, and I got more shots, and better shots, and … well … they are Fairy Lanterns, for pete’s sake. Can you really see too many of these beauties? Nah …
Isn’t this sweet? Don’t you feel blessed when you see one of these? Like, maybe a fairy is going to run out from under a near-by bush?
And this! A whole field of them! Some fairies are going to have a party here!
Oh, I just couldn’t resist – one more. Can you tell I’m a nut for these beauties?
Then, there were the sweet delicate clarkias, a wine cup, and what looked like a miniature farewell-to-spring. These are on my property, so I’ll be going out to visit again tomorrow, with grubby clothes, so I can get down and dirty!
But this is the flower that started it all. It is a delphinium, or larkspur. That baby is so tall, it comes to my waist! Electric blue catches the eye!
This is the way I saw it, from the Jeep. I backed the Jeep up, and took this shot. Yes, I have closer photos, and I’ll post them in a moment. But first, a story to tell.
Okay, this is the only “stand” of larkspur I know about anywhere near me, and it never has more than 5-6 stalks of larkspur. One year, I collected seeds and planted them. I had little success. Of course, it doesn’t help that I used a weedwacker who thinks a stand of hummingbird sage is a weed. I set out rocks around them, and told him, “If you cut them down again, I will cut off your arm.” Well, not really, but I felt like it. Anyway, one year, I just collected the seeds and scattered them, outside my garden, thinking they would not get wacked.
This is the result. Isn’t that just gorgeous?
It is times like this that I wish I had a macro! That’s my next “toy.” This baby is on my “down-and-dirty” list for tomorrow, too!
And right across the road, one of my all time favorites – the Calochortus venustus – some call it the Mariposa Lily. Both Calochortus are in the Lily family.
But right next to this one, one was completely opened. Oh, Joy!
Isn’t she a beaut? My favorite native wildflower up here! I am blessed that she loves this land and graces me with her presence!
And so, tonight’s sunset on the Wildflower Mania, but I’ll be back soon with some down-and-dirty photos!
From flowers to sunset, what glory! I’m choosing this as emblematic of the season to come. My pitiful mini-deck in Santa Cruz, spume-lashed, sunblocked, is suddenly awash in flowers; my containers are splitting. O precious water, thank you for pounding us. Forgive my whines about mildew and the hiking days lost. Be kind next year. And fire, O please, please, match that mercy.
Wow Kate, thank you. So nice to feel your appreciation for the grasses as well as flowers. And a beautiful end to a garden -spent day in PG. The flowers express so perfectly the bliss of this gorgeous day… a last salute to Memorial Day.
Lovely flowers and pictures of them, the Fairy Lanterns and Calochortus are new to me as I am a wildflower spotter from the UK! I really enjoyed your enthusiasm.
these are so beautiful! It reminds me of the A. A. Milne poem ‘The Dormouse and the doctor’. It’s very long. Do you know it? The first verse is
‘There once was a Dormouse who lived in a bed
Of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red),
And all the day long he’d a wonderful view
Of geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue).’
That dormouse loves delphiniums as much as you do, and looking at these photos I can see why.
I look forward to more of your summer wildflowers to brighten my wintery world 🙂
I love those Fairy Lanterns so much. They are the coolest flowers. And the Delphinium are so blue…I love that color. And what a sunset to start June with. Great shots Kate.
Isn’t it wonderful? The Fairy lanterns have always been one of my most favorite. They seemed to come out a little later than usual this year-