Gather ye wildflowers while ye may (they’ll probably be gone by May)

Brian J. Cantwell Uncategorized April 17, 2026 1 Minute

A delicate Fawn Lily (*Erythronium oregonum*) blooms at the edge of a path leading to my writing hut. It is a lowland relative of the Glacier Lily commonly seen in the Cascade Mountains.

WILDFLOWER SEASON, usually around the first of May, has come early to Center Island. It’s my favorite time of year on the rock.

The rocky knoll behind my cabin has a little meadow where wildflowers get the filtered sunshine they like, and they prosper and spread. Here are a few images of my favorites.

The mottled petals of the Chocolate Lily (*Fritillaria affinis*) make it a camouflaged beauty of the forest.

The bloom of the tiny Calypso Orchid (*Calypso bulbosa*), aptly nicknamed Fairy Slipper, is about the size of my thumb.

I thought these little beauties edging Lopez Sound, three minutes from my front door, were violets, but my neighbor the Mad Birder (who knows his wildflowers as well as his avian buddies) told me they are *Collinsia parviflora*, commonly bearing the delightful moniker “Blue-eyed Mary.”

Published by Brian J. Cantwell

A former travel and outdoors editor at The Seattle Times, I'm now exploring Washington's San Juan Islands on my classic runabout and trying not to smash my fingers with the hammer while I fix up my island cabin. View all posts by Brian J. Cantwell

Published April 17, 2026