I have always loved flowers. I can’t recall our dining room
table in my childhood home being without a vase of flowers, real ones from the
garden or good-looking silk ones during the winter. Jan being a horticulturist
and working in greenhouses, we never lacked for cut flowers and potted plants
in our own home. I love receiving a bouquet of flowers, not only because of the
joy the flowers give me but mostly because of the thought behind it from the
giver.
But there is something about wildflowers that touch me in a
way that is hard to express in words. The closest I can come is that my mind is
filled with a certain peace and delight when my eyes find the reds, yellows,
and blues amid the greens. I am fortunate to have good friends who share my
passion, and it was one of them who came up with the term “flower geek” a
number of years ago on our annual wildflower trip together. Now that we live in
two different provinces our flower geeking is done by sharing pictures
online—not the same as discovering the wildflowers together, but a good second.
For a couple of years when Life got in the way I missed the peak of the season
and it was with a touch of sadness I had to accept that. “Next year” I said to
myself…
And then came 2020. Barely into the year the world shut down
because of COVID-19 and we are not out of the woods yet—pardon the pun! But as
the air cleared around the globe and marine life found old waterways, the
wildflowers of Alberta put on the greatest show I have ever seen. I have no
idea if the abundance of wildflowers this year has anything to do with the
pandemic—probably not, but when I think back on 2020 in future years, my first
thought will be of the stunning display of wildflowers, and the corona virus
second.
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| Old man's whiskers and a couple of larkspur. There are fields and fields of old man's whiskers everywhere |
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| Glacier lily. On a recent hike in Kananaskis there were hundreds of glacier lilies in bloom |
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| Shooting star. A friend alerted me to this place where the shooting stars were so plentiful |
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| Star-flowered Solomon's seal. I usually find the false Solomon's seal, so this was a real treat |
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| Common red paintbrush. One of my favourite wildflowers, and I can't get over how many are in bloom right now |
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| Long bracted green orchid. I adore wild orchids! AB is home to 26 species and while I have found many I have by no means seen them all. This one I hadn't seen until this year |
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| Lupines. Another favourite of mine, and they are everywhere right now |
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| Sainfoin. I have never seen this wildflower before. Apparently it's a gourmet addition to hay fields! |
Jan and I have been out and about more this summer than in
recent memory. The beauty of the abundance of the wildflowers leaves us
breathless every time no matter where we go in our corner of the world. While nothing
can rival what the eye sees in real life, I do my best to capture some of it in
my camera’s viewfinder. I have taken a lot of pictures, and the images shared
here are but a fraction of what’s out there. Go see for yourself, if you haven’t
already!
