Wild About the Islands’ Flowers

Several Aprils ago, I happened upon a small, narrow-stemmed plant topped with a single, purplish-pink hatted flower while running along the Lighthouse Point trail in Deception Pass State Park (DPSP). I learned that it was a Fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa) and it has captivated me ever since. According to the USDA, its stem is 2″ to 8″ tall, with a single green leaf at the base, so it can be easy to miss. It’s common on Whidbey and Fidalgo Island, but in several states it’s endangered. Obsessed with this plant, I bought a book I’d checked out at the library many times: Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (PPNC) by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon, which says, “although widespread, [it] is rapidly being exterminated in populated areas due to trampling and especially picking. The corms [bulb-like below ground stems] are attached by means of delicate roots that are easily broken even by the slightest tug on the stem. Hence, when the flower is picked, the plant usually dies.” sigh

Fairy slipper orchid at Bowman Bay/ Rosario Beach Trail (DPSP)

PPNC explains the difference between plants and shrubs, which are “woody plants less than 10 m tall when mature and usually multi-stemmed,” while flowers are, “non-woody flowering plants.” This may seem obvious, and sometimes is, as in the case of (Rhododendron macrophyllum), the Pacific Rhododendron (which bloom at DPSP in May), but it isn’t always. For example, (Linnaea borealis) the size-of-your-hand Twinflower is also a shrub.

(*Linnaea borealis*) Bowman Bay trails (DPSP)

A fascination with this flower gave me reason to finally pull Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief from my shelf, wipe off the dust, and read it. Of course, I loved that it is about an eccentric, orchid-obsessed guy. And it provided perspective. My interest makes me barely a fan compared to this man.

There is a surprisingly large number of wildflower species on the islands and my quest for information and in person encounters with them led me to local hotspots. The best places to view them at DPSP are Rosario Head, Bowman Bay, the trail between the two areas, and the Goose Rock Summit Trails. On Fidalgo Island, check out Cap Sante Park, Washington Park and the Tommy Thompson Trail (TTT). And on North Whidbey, try Dugualla Bay, Ebey’s Reserve and Admiralty Inlet. They are the most plentiful from early April through mid-May and vary in size from larger than your hand to smaller than tip of your pinky.

(*Hyacinthoides non-scripta*) at Cap Sante Park

(*Trifolium wormskjoldii*) at Washington Park

Douglas’ Satin-Flower (*Sisyrinchium douglasii*) at Lighthouse Point trail (DPSP)

(*Leucanthemum vulgare*) at Rosario Head (DPSP)

(*Maianthemum dilatatum*) at Sand Dune Interpretive Trail (DPSP)

(*Sanguisorba officinalis*) at Goose Rock Summit Trails (DPSP)

(*Veronica cusickii*) at Cornet Bay trails (DPSP)

(*Argentina anserina ssp pacifica*) at Crescent Harbor

I photographed nearly all of these plants between mid-March and mid-May using a Canon Rebel XTi DSLR camera, and edited them in Picasa, primarily using the combined auto and color correction feature <I’m Feeling Lucky>; however, I neither saturated nor boosted the color. Over the past few months (which became years), I’ve learned a lot about wildflowers and plant photography and have included a few tips on sample photo captions. I hope that these images of plants from Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands inspire you to get out on the trails to stop and smell, admire, and photograph the wildflowers.

11 thoughts on “Wild About the Islands’ Flowers”

sallywoodphotography

June 4, 2015 at 1:43 pm Reply

Lovely flower photos!!! nice job!
- JuLee Rudolf
  
  June 7, 2015 at 10:20 pm Reply
  
  Thank you for your kind words, as usual. You’ve been great and I so appreciate your support!
Sophie Wallace

May 7, 2016 at 10:10 pm Reply

Thank you for this wonderful page my mother’s and I are going on a nature hunt as a mother’s day present and I bought her a vice so we can pick a bouquet using some of these flowers.
- JuLee Rudolf
  
  May 9, 2016 at 9:09 am Reply
  
  Hope you had fun and found some great flowers, but please don’t pick the fairy slipper orchids (I think they are finished blooming by now anyway). Take care, J
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bluebrightly

April 29, 2018 at 10:54 am Reply

What an embarrassment of riches! I’m not sure I remember how I stumbled on your blog….but anyway, we’re moving this summer, most likely to Anacortes or somewhere on Fidalgo, and it’s wonderful to see that you found such an abundance, not far from home.
- JuLee Rudolf
  
  June 3, 2018 at 9:18 am Reply
  
  Lynn! I’m now following your blog and the wonderful photographs. I wish you the best as my new Fidalgo Island neighbor. Check in some time if you are interested. I still know all the best places to find flowers and I’d be glad to take you if you’re interested. Cheers.
Deborah Engelbach

April 19, 2022 at 8:08 pm Reply

I was hiking today in Anacortes Community Land and found hundreds of white flowers like lily . Grew in moss with thick variegated leaf. Help me . I can send photo .
- JuLee Rudolf
  
  April 20, 2022 at 7:10 pm Reply
  
  Deborah,
  Photo please! There’s a flower called False lily of the valley but I was just out running today along the Heart and Whistle Lake trails and they aren’t blooming yet. Glad to help :-).
Pat Whitacre

May 30, 2022 at 9:26 pm Reply

We are staying at The Bluff B&B, Oak Harbor Tues and Wed June 21-22.We photograph butterflies visiting wildflowers.We’ll miss spring flowers and too soon for July-Sept. Would appreciate any tips you might share. Pat and Bob Whitacre
- JuLee Rudolf
  
  June 27, 2022 at 1:06 pm Reply
  
  Pat,
  Gah! I’m so sorry that I missed this. I hope that you had an awesome trip. The best flowers around at the time you were here were at the places I’d included in the post about them – Washington Park and Deception Pass State Park for sure. Take care