Last spring, I came across the loveliest drift of foamy flowers that I’d ever seen.  It grew on a rocky outcrop.  Pink blooms smothered the moss-covered rocks.  It was as if the hillside was blushing.

“That would look great in my garden!” I thought.

We have a rocky slope that blooms with grape hyacinth at this same time.  Wouldn’t the pink & blue combo look fabulous?

My friend SK had similar thoughts.  Little green plant-coveting monsters chorused from our shoulders, encouraging us both to forage some of this wildflower.

It was a group consensus.

We just took a few plants.  We only took them from crevices already overflowing with the pink population.  I felt a weensy bit ashamed by our boldness – but only for a moment.

The plants were tucked into similar mossy crevices in my garden as soon as was possible.  Fingers crossed for their survival, I went inside to search out the details on the plant.

It turns out that it’s named appropriately.  Sea Blush.  Blooming on rocky hillsides throughout the Pacific Northwest, it’s a native wildflower.

I certainly hadn’t noticed any unusual smell from the flowers, but when I read about it, I hoped there might be just enough to deter the deer from feasting.  Deer frequent this part of the garden more than any other.  Time would tell.

It was disappointing to find out Sea Blush is an annual.  Since we’d moved it while it was in bloom, I figured there wasn’t much chance it would set seed.

What a delight to find it blooming this spring!    Was the winter mild enough that the plants survived?  Did the seeds develop even though I’d set it back by transplanting?  I’m not sure how it survived, but I’m thrilled it did.

Now I hope it’ll spread across the rocks & produce the blushing spring meadow of my fantasies.

Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary offers classes on native plant gardening. I took one last weekend.  The instructor, Pat Johnson, listed Sea Blush as one of her plant picks for native gardens.  She has superwonderful photos of gardens on Vancouver Island that benefit from the use of native plants.  I definitely recommend the 1/2 day class if you ever get the chance.

Swan Lake also has a native plant sale coming up this weekend.  Imagine –

• getting coveted plants without scavenging…
• and raising funds for a local park.

Win-Win
Even better than foraging, don’t you think?

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