This months Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter was Wildflowers and Weeds. Living in a new place makes our nature study feel new. We are accustomed to seeing "old friends" when we go out to look at wildflowers and most everything we see is totally unfamiliar! We did find one "old friend" on our wildflower outings- the Indian paintbrush. Purple was the most predominant flower color. We found all the colors, on the Wildflower Color Hunt bookmark from the June newsletter, except light pink. Here is a look at what we found.
Rocky Mountain Phlox Phlox multiflora
Yellow Pea Thermopsis rhombifolia
Unknown
Vase Flower Clematis hirsutissima
Subalpine Larkspur Delphinium barbeyi
Lupine
Indian Paintbrush
Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata
Dusky Beardtongue Penstemon whippleanus
Unknown
Prickly Rose Rosa acicularis
Unknown
Lupines and Arrowleaf Balsamroot
These were all found very near our home. We still have some work to do on identifying a few flowers. Along with looking at our local flowers, we did take a drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park and saw some very low lying flowers at the Alpine Tundra visitor center. I thought that we got a picture, but have been disappointed that I have not been able to find it. The wind was blowing so hard up there and the temperature was rather chilly, so it is possible that I didn't get a photo. Next time I will be sure to take a picture to share these amazing wildflowers that are able to survive in such a climate.
