Two of my favorite natives.

These are two of my favorite natives. Both are relatively uncommon and I would dare to say rarely encountered.

Darlingtonia californica to me brings back great memories of backpacking deep into the Kalmiopsis wilderness and seeing it growing in boggy seeps or along frigid snow melt springs with its stolons winding through the bluish green serpentine rocks next to Cyprepedium californica both in bloom at the same time.

Peaonia brownii is a great plant that means a lot to me. The man who was a great mentor to me in growing alpines, rock garden plants and natives, Jack Poff, first showed it to me somewhere up near Bird Creek Meadows in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I collected seeds a few months later. Jack has since gone plant hunting in the big meadows in the sky and our frequent trips out to Flag Point, the Gorge and Indian Heaven are memories now from a decade a decade and a half ago. 

Such great memories and some amazing plants.

Finally the rain is ending and we are looking at at run of sunshine. Temps into the 60's.

Cheers, Mark