A Walk through the Meadow in early March
- cyndi867
- Mar 8
- 2 min read
February was warmer than usual, so it seems that the spring blooms are a few weeks early this year. Walking through the rocky balds, the early wildflowers are beginning to bloom and the camas are up and showing lots of promise for April.
The blue eyed mary is now in full bloom in the lichen covered rocks and moss.
Blue eyed mary (Collinsia parviflora) is a low growing annual, with dark blue green green leaves and small deep blue flowers. The blooms always remind me of stars in the night sky.
Blue eyed mary germinates mid winter and is an important larval food source for the endangered Taylor's checkerspot butterfly. We no longer have Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies in the San Juan Islands, but the last known sighting was on a nearby island. I hope that someday the butterfly can be reintroduced to the San Juans, and if so, I will have the plants it relies on ready.
Spring gold (Lomatium utriculatum) has been in bloom since mid Feb and I am looking forward to its peak bloom end March.
Spring gold has a large tap root which makes them very hardy and resilient. One of my favorite spring flowers because of their abundance here. These wildflowers are long lived and can live up to 20 years in the pacific northwest meadows. The plants also have a long bloom period, providing important support for early pollinators from February through April. Moss’ elfin butterflies visit spring gold as a favorite nectar source and I have seen these butterflies on the flowers.
Red flowering current (Ribes sanguineum) is also in bloom today. Here, this striking shrub grows out of the rocks in the steep cliffs where it is safe from deer browse. There is also a current in the cliffside, about ten feet above the water's edge. The red flowering current is a tough plant and can survive wind and salt. I first noted the blooms this year on February 26, just in time to welcome the first rufous hummingbird back to Lopez for the spring..
Satinflower (Olsynium douglasii) is also in bloom. This delicate wildflower tends to grow in the moss and lichen near the rocky shoreline. Such harsh conditions in the early spring, yet it flourishes.
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