Reflections

For a die-hard gardener, travel can bring with it unexpected adventures into the world of all things ‘plant’.  On our way East to Michigan this summer, we wandered through a flannel-thick fog in Wyoming into a magic kingdom of wildflowers in extravagant bloom. The landscape itself was desolate under that gray shroud. Not a car, farm or ranch house was in sight anywhere, mile after mile. And then suddenly the roadsides became first sprinkled, then blanketed with blossoms I had never seen before, anywhere.

Thank goodness for WiFi. It was spotty, but just enough to turn my smart-phone into a makeshift wildflower guide. Thank goodness also that online sites permit searching by color. The names, in some cases, seemed as exotic as the flowers themselves.  I cannot even imagine what the early pioneers in their covered wagons felt as they made their way over these delicate carpets of blue and yellow and white.  Droplets glistened on the petals like precious gem stones scattered by some unseen hand across the landscape.

If proof ever was needed that beauty is where we find it, our backroads trek through Wyoming gave it to us in abundance. Unforgettable.

Blue Prairie Flax

Evening Primrose

Wild Jungle Dragon Iris

Narrowleaf Stoneseed

Sego Lily