broad-leaved shooting star, Henderson's shooting star, mosquito bills, sailor caps bloom, American cowslip, mad violets, Dodecatheon hendersonii, primula hendersonii, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest

Spring Wildflower Walk

I bet you can guess my response to this meadow of shooting stars? (Dodecatheon or Primula)

broad-leaved shooting star, Henderson's shooting star, mosquito bills, sailor caps bloom, American cowslip, mad violets, Dodecatheon hendersonii, primula hendersonii, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

C, SM & I are exploring Dean Park when I drop to my knees to check out (& photograph ) the pretty spring flowers,
I’m delighted.
SM is charmed.
C smiles indulgently & waits …

broad-leaved shooting star, Henderson's shooting star, mosquito bills, sailor caps bloom, American cowslip, mad violets, Dodecatheon hendersonii, primula hendersonii, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

The vibrant magenta colours look so perky! How can these delicate cyclamen-style blooms be tough enough to survive our temperamental spring weather?

Further down the trail there’s pollen everywhere – in the air, along path edges… even settling on plants & making them look different.  At first glance I thought I’d found a special variegated salal.  Check out the leaf with pollen & without:

I’m not sure exactly where the pollen is from. There’s so much of it I figure it’s got to be from the most dominant species of tree in this park.  Perhaps the douglas fir?

mice tails inside douglas fir cone, Pseudotsuga menziesii, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Cones mottle the ground.  SM confirms they’re douglas fir.  She tells me a story about the little mice that hide inside the cones, with only their tails poking out between the layers.  Pretty cute, eh?

In another small clearing is a meadow of fawn lily  (erythronium).

white fawnn lily meadow, Erythronium oregonum ,garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

I’m used to seeing them in a more open meadow at Beacon Hill Park, so it’s nice to see them prosper in the dappled shade of the forest edge too.  Of course, I need a closer look.  This time C smiles indulgently but continues on his way.  (He’s here for the fresh air & exercise).

white fawn lily bloom Erythronium oregonum garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

It’s a bit tough to see into the face of the fawn lily because of its nodding head but I reckon that is its way to protect those private bits from the occasional downpour. Can’t you just imagine the bees taking refuge under a fawn lily umbrella?  Keeping company with a fairy or two ….

yellow violet, viola, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

There are many wild violets growing in our garden, some pink and some blue. Years ago I heard about a  wild yellow violet.   I finally saw a small clump in a Washington State Park last year.  But that’s pretty much it. Today  SM points out one to me.   It is so tiny!   I’d easily have missed it completely, walking right past none the wiser.   It’s so nice to see them growing locally.

Fairy Slipper Calypso bulbosa orchid, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Then SM spies a wild orchid.
                    OMG !!!

I’ve only ever heard of the fairy slipper (Calypso bulbosa).
We’ve got to invite SM along on our hikes more often.     🙂

I’m running around with the camera – up & down…  this angle & that one…
 Bucket list moment !!

C misses the entire thing.

western trillium patch, Trillium Ovatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

He’s down the trail. When he comes across another native plant he knows I’ll be excited about, he decides to sit until I catch up…

Trillium Is not your typical flower.   When the bloom first opens, the petals are white. Over time they turn pink.  It’s two plants in the space of one.

western trillium, Trillium Ovatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins
western trillium bloom, Trillium Ovatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Trillium is from the Latin ‘in 3’s’.

  • 3 leaves circle the stem.
  • 3 sepals frame the flower
  • 3 petals highlight the bloom
  • the stamens are set in groups of 3.
  • there are 3 chambers to the seed pod

I reckon it looks slightly alien.

With so much interest in the groundcover, I’ve barely looked up at all.

salmonberry shrub coming into leaf, Rubus spectabilis, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

SM asks me about a tall, rangy shrub just coming into leaf.  This time I’m the one to help with ID.  Salmonberry is one of the early spring shrubs.   I first noticed its flowers  while horseback riding through the Sooke Hills.

About the time these bright fuchsia flowers bloom, the rufous hummingbirds return for the season.  Kismet.

salmonberry flower, Rubus spectabilis, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

I once planted salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) in our garden but later realized that a pretty flower & tasty berries didn’t balance with my aversion to growing anything with thorns.  Now I just enjoy salmonberries in the wild.

March, April & May are fabulous times to view the native flowers around Victoria.   Before I’m ready, many of them disappear into dormancy.  It’s their way of surviving our long dry summers.  Seems kinda backwards, doesn’t it?  We often wait for the summer warmth before heading outdoors, and before it even gets too hot, the big show is over.

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5 thoughts on “Spring Wildflower Walk”

  1. Very interesting! Loved all the pictures and stories. Glad SM was with you two😊

    1. Oh yeah – she’s really interested in native plants too, and she’s got superb vision — so we had a great time… there were more treats we viewed, but I didn’t include them all in the post. ☺

  2. Nice piece. I saw death camus amongst the blue camus at Beacon hill park this year. Another factoid, it takes 7 years for trillium to bloom!
    Warm regards
    Lorraine

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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