This week, I had the opportunity to go camping with a dear friend in our beautiful Northwest, a yearly ritual we are always glad to revisit! Because we have been going nearly every year since we were about 17, it’s been interesting to see how my camping experience changes as my interests grow and shift. In my younger years, I focused on other aspects of camping, such as the shopping in nearby towns, the history of the area, looking for the toughest terrain challenge, etc.

Lately, as you might imagine, I have been much more tuned into the plants and wildflowers in the area! It has been a real joy to take this aspect of my job into my personal life. There are so many flowers I carry in my department, which have wild cousins in the forest and plains nearby. Usually, they are much smaller, so I have to really slow down and take the time to look carefully. I have taken photos with my digital camera to take back home and identify using my wildflower books. It is always a surprise to find that some crazy wildflower is in the same family as an iris, say, or a rose!

This has given me a deeper appreciation for the varieties of flowers I handle every day, and how much some of them have changed over the centuries to provide us with such delightful variations! Come in and share your flower stories with me. I’d love to hear them!