It's Only Natural To Love Our Native Flowers
Submitted April 21, 2015 at 10:39 AM
Glacier Lily Erythronium x 'Pagoda'
The entrance to the Natural Area through the Oak Tunnel is carpeted with these lovely yellow blooms that are a hybrid of the native glacier lily.
Western Waterleaf Hydrophyllum occidentale
Nestled in the the undergrowth a little further up the trail you can find these delightful puffballs of purple flower clusters.
Wild Parsley Lomatium dissectum
As the shade turns into sun, airy yellow flower heads appear above the highly dissected leaves of this perennial.
Cutleaf Balsamroot Balsamorhiza macrophylla
Once you've left the oak tunnel, you'll start to find this wonderfully wild looking sunflower.
During your hike keep an eye out for Bee Houses. These are part of a mason bee survey being done by the Wild Bee Project to survey the diversity of mason bees present in the area. For more information about their work to conserve these important pollinators click here.
Blue Flax Linum perenne
Short-lived, but abundant, blue flowers appear throughout the summer on this ubiquitous native.
Bitterbrush Purshia tridentata
This shrub is absolutely exploding with color as every branch is coated with buds and blooms!
Longleaf Phlox Phlox longifolia
Pops of pink dot the trail thanks to this low growing perennial.
The sun is shining, the weather is perfect, and there is an incredible show just waiting for you as you stretch your legs on a hike through the Natural Area. We only highlighted a fraction of the blooms you can find right now, not to mention the abundance of birds, bunnies and bees dancing with delight at the return of summer. It is a wonderful time to follow your instincts and visit the Garden!
