Category: Flowers

Words of Wisdom?

If you’ve ever woken up, looked in the mirror and thought…oh no, what’s next, then this post is for you!

At this point in life, I find that the signs of aging can be brutally unkind and although I tried to prepare for it, or to convince myself to simply accept it and carry on, sometimes, it just slaps me in the face.

And so it was when I created this “greeting” card. It reminds me that somedays things aren’t so sunny in Sequim after all, but that The Blue Hole is still up there; tomorrow will indeed be a better day…and, that I really need to dump that mirror!

Who Knew?!

Trillium in Bloom, Olympic National Park

Although not as colorful, but closer to home than the tulip fields, Sequimites like me love to find trilliums in the forest. They cost nothing to view or photograph, require no cultivation techniques, or care, and they too are an indication that spring has arrived; which makes me wonder who coined the term “April Showers bring May flowers”?

But aside from that, trilliums are unique in that:

  • by picking one you can seriously injure the plant and may prevent it from producing food for the next year, and the plant will eventually take many years to recover, or die!
  • picking them is illegal, and…you could get arrested!
  • trilliums are especially unique because they produce a chemical that is technically called an elaisome, a syrup that attracts insects.
  • from a planted seed, it takes approximately five to nine years for the Great White Trillium to bloom! So when you see a massive number of these in spring, you know you’re looking at a bunch of plants that are at least a decade old, probably much older.
  • since the late nineties, the trillium, a member of the lily family, has been a symbol of bisexuality. This symbol came to be used on the Mexican bisexual flag in 2001, showing how nature can intertwine with larger themes such as love and the freedom to love regardless of gender.

Remember, you read it here first!

Skagit Valley is for Lovers!

RoozenGaarde Tulip Farm, Mt. Vernon

I can’t help but wonder if this couple, whom I found gently tiptoeing among the tulips several years ago during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival may have ventured down the path to matrimony…

Pathways of Grape Hyacinth framed by Tulip Bulbs

and if so, what a pretty path there was to offer them at nearby Tulip Town the same year. But if they hesitated, I’m sure the offerings this year will be equally as inviting.

And for those of you who haven’t been there yet, this is a gentle reminder of what you may be missing by delaying your trip. Although there are no guarantees of matrimony, you will find a fabulous display of flowers, not only tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and peonies but crocus, muscari, and more.

And I you choose to plant your own bulbs, the farm is offering 25 free Akebono Tulip bulbs if you “place a bulb order for $75.00* or more by June 15th or $90.00* or more by July 31st and we will add the 25 FREE bulbs to your order!” – see their website for more information and if you go…tiptoe lightly too, please.

P.S. the Sequim Senior Center, aka the Shipley Center is now offering a trip to the festival, April 10th, so if you’re of the ripe age, you may want to check it out!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

A White Crab Spider Walks Crablike atop a Lacy Phacelia

The Woodcock Demonstration Garden located at 2711 Woodcock Road, Sequim, offers a nice number of plants, flowers, bees, bugs and yes, spiders.

Crab spiders are ones with long front legs, moving with crablike sideways motions and typically hiding in plants and flowers waiting for prey, e.g., aphids, and unfortunately honey bees, bumblebees and butterflies – and of course, they’re white, versus brown, green, or yellow. 

Luckily for us, they’re not harmful or poisonous to humans, although some of us may still not appreciate their presence. But not to worry if you find one in your house, it was probably misguided and it would actually be happier if you were to put it outside. 

Crab spiders are also unique in that they don’t spin webs; they walk on top of plants and flowers until they drop a silk line to hunt, like a fishermen. So there’s no need to fear that you may run into a web on your way out the door either.

And if you’re like me and you enjoy photographing nature, stop by the Garden to enjoy not only the plants and beautiful flowers, but all the living creatures, notably the crab spiders.