Cusp of Summer

Spring meets summer in this get well bouquet including peonies from Fremont, snapdragons from Half Moon Bay, and oregano, rosemary, olive, yarrow, monkey flowers, teasel thistle, and perennial sweet peas from Napa.

Time Warp, 6 of 17: Napa Farmers Market (5/26/12)

 I returned from Minnesota in time for a little mid-week event (sadly undocumented- I'm getting lazy!), and a free weekend to attend the Napa Farmers Market. Here's the set-up, complete with notecards, flowers to wear, hand-dyed natural silk ribbon, nut ornaments, and a sample arrangement featuring leftover monkey flowers, teasal thistle, valley oak, and wild plum from Napa, kangaroo paw from Salinas, kale from Pacifica, roses from Sonoma, and viburnum from Petaluma.

 (These orange guys on the above right are the monkey flowers, specifically Mimulus aurantiacus.

Natives

I drive slowly, but I know where the turnouts are and I always use them. That's what I was doing when, among an unremarkable clump of a member of my studio's namesake genus (Sticky Monkey Flower, or mimulus aurantiacus), above and below left, I caught sight of a little splash of yellow that I knew was special. Do you see it? Take a closer look, below right, etc. . . .

Growing up, we called these "fairy lanterns", and I watched for them every spring in the same shady wooded patch a little ways from my house. In recent years that little colony has waned, so I felt very lucky to find these.

In looking up the latin name (Calochortus pulchellus), I discovered another reason to feel lucky . . . check out this crazy isolated distribution! If you come visit in the Spring, drop me a line. I'll show you where the fairies are hiding these days. : )

mimulus

A quick trip up to the Sierra Nevadas made for a fun and sun filled few days.  Highlights included seep monkey flower (Mimulus guttatus, above), subalpine spiraea (Spiraea splendens var. splendens, below), sun-catching grasses, weather-beaten trees, vivid green lichens, crystal clear waters of Lake Tahoe and Cascade Falls, fantastic food and drink, lots of sunscreen, and a wonderful visit with my awesome grandfather and good friends.