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Pasque Flower
Bozeman, Montana
2006

Probably my favorite of the early spring wildflowers.

Shooting Star
Bozeman, Montana
2006

I didn’t notice until just now that this particular Shooting Star is more purple than the typical Shooting Star color (which tends to have more of a pinkish or lavender cast to it). I’d suspect a color issue with the digital photo itself, but the green foliage and the yellow Glacier Lily colors seem spot on, so I’ve got to think it’s the flower itself. Either way it’s a nice specimen, one that reminds me of the lyrics of a Bad Company song. I’m not a real big Bad Company fan or I’d post a link to their video. Still these few lines are certainly appropriate:

Don’t you know that you are a shooting star?
And all the world will love you just as long
As long as you are.

Glacier Lily
Bozeman, Montana
2007

I didn’t get going on my flower photo-taking binge right at the start of flower season this year so I missed some of my favorite flowers. So over the next three days I’m going to post photos from several years ago of a few of the flowers that appear right after the snow melts.

Yarrow
Bozeman, Montana
2011

With it’s tall, lanky, almost weedy build, yarrow isn’t the best looking flower around. But in the right light it can be pretty showy.

Sulfur Paintbrush
Bozeman, Montana
2011

Indian Paintbrush, which generally comes in bright red or scarlet colors but can also be found in shades of orange, salmon and other reddish hues,  is one of my favorite wildflowers. When we first moved to Bozeman we had three little Indian Paintbrush plants that bloomed in the same spot for several years in a row and then disappeared. There are some on our neighbor’s property higher up on the mountain behind us, but right near our house we have seen no more. So we have had to settle for the related Sulfur Paintbrush, which is nice but not nearly as spectacular.

Lance-Leaved Stonecrop
Bozeman, Montana
2011

This flower definitely prefers the drier rockier areas, and it is a succulent, a characteristic I always associate with desert plants. But it actually grows in a range that extends from New Mexico all the way to southern Alaska and the Yukon. The bright yellow color of the flower in this photo was enhanced not by Photoshop but by the setting sun which was casting a yellow glow on everything.

Harebell
Bozeman, Montana
2011

I usually associate Harebells with early spring and the wettest, shadiest, parts of our property. I think that’s generally true but I found these growing in the heat of July on the dry, rocky south-facing ridge behind our house.

Crested Beardtongue
Bozeman, Montana
2011

This is a bluer and by far more showy specimen of crested beardtongue than what we usually see around here. It must be sitting on the right patch of soil.

Woods Rose
Bozeman, Montana
2011

Wild roses are quite abundant on our property and seem to thrive on abuse, at least to a point. Some have sprung up right next to the porch and they occasionally get trampled only to come back even thicker. Perhaps this is an evolutionary adaptation resulting from having to be able to withstand not so dainty bears that like to feed on rose hips in the fall.

Field Chickweed
Bozeman, Montana
2011

It’s got weed in it’s name and it’s in our Weeds of the West book, but it’s also in two of our wildflower books. So which is it, a weed or a wildflower? Maybe they’re not mutually exclusive categories. I guess I’m going with the wildflower book which says “Many chickweeds are troublesome weeds of field and garden and have small unattractive flowers. The field chickweed, however, is neither weedy nor unattractive.”