Flower Splendor: Have Fun Getting To Know Wildflowers
Each summer and fall in the Colorado Rockies, our wildflower neighbors appear and shower us with delight. Many special varieties also offer other clues about their surroundings — the altitude on a hiking trail, the right timing for eager trout to take a dry fly, when to expect young falcons to fledge or great horned owl eggs to hatch, when coyote pups begin to play outside their dens, where to watch for grazing wildlife or when winter will finally relax its grip. As we become familiar with wildflowers, we discover other secrets of mountain life.
Many wildflowers and plants in the area share a name (and often a physical resemblance!) with animals, humans, fantastical beings or magical objects. Learning about this makes observing flower splendor all the more fun! Consider paintbrush, bull thistle, king’s crown, steershead, fairy slipper … even the prolific dandelion! Identifying particular flowers by names isn’t necessary to appreciate their beauty and it’s not always easy; many species appear similar upon first glance. But here is an artistic (not scientific or botanical) introduction to a variety of Rocky Mountain flowers with unique names, including basic descriptions and colorful sketches to help you recognize and remember them.
Enjoy! And remember, it’s a good idea to carry along a more detailed field guide to provide you with information and photos as you explore local wildflowers.
So, enjoy your sojourns among the wildflowers this summer and try to get to know as many as possible. Remember not to pick or tread upon these flowers … they wilt quickly and their fragile beauty soon fades and dies. Hopefully you will be lucky to view the splendor of a field of Colorado columbine, the state flower, and to greet a patch of tiny bright blue forget-me-nots at your feet. The memories will be yours for keeps.
Originally published in the Summer 2024 issue of Spoke+Blossom.