Plant Sales and Open Gardens this Weekend!
Our own chapter members Carolyn Chamberlain and Sharon Maurin will open their gardens tomorrow afternoon (1-4 p.m.) for the annual Medford Garden Club sale. For their addresses and a list of available plants at their gardens and the garden of Bill Hunt, see the attached pdf file.
Saturday, Kathy Allen and Baldassare Mineo are ready to welcome you to their open gardens and encourage you to check out plants for purchase. Kathy’s is open 10-5, Baldassare’s garden visiting hours are 9-1 or by appointment. Plenty of space for socially distanced shopping at both locations.
Yreka Trip: Wildflowers of the Klamath
I took a solitary early May trip to the Yreka area hoping to find the Yreka phlox still in full bloom. Due to some hot days in late April/early May, the phlox was fading out, but I did find it and also the “ghosts” of some bitterroot flowers (Lewisia rediviva). The scabland rock gardens east of I-5, site of an old Chinese cemetery, also host a rare buckwheat, Eriogonum sphaerocephalum var. halimoides (below right), which was in bloom and drawing some wonderful pollinator action. Driving up into the mountains, I found Fritillaria recurva (below), Lewisia cotyledon in bud, Allium falcatum, Klamath plum in sweet-smelling bloom and many other spring beauties. Also saw a neat Cheilanthes rock fern which some of you might recognize. The best discovery of all? A single Siskiyou fritillary in bloom right next to me when I stopped to rest on a rock.
There were also plenty of butterflies out and about, especially the Sara Orange Tip. That’s because of the mustard species in bloom in the Klamath Mountains (see photo top right). You can also observe this same butterfly species in great numbers on the Table Rocks early in the season for the same reason: mustards blooming.
Field Trips
Speaking of Table Rocks, we should plan our Table Rocks hike in honor of Janet Crawford for a weekday evening soon. If we wait any longer, the rattlesnakes will be out. If you’d like to join me on an early June field trip to Lava Beds, let me know as soon as possible. The Monument features some intriguing pumice gardens as well as a large flora of sagebrush, grassland and forest species. This trip could also include some birding and possibly a look at a rare plant that’s endangered in the Klamath Falls area but I would need to arrange this part ahead of time, so please let me know if interested. Those of us who have lifetime passes can carry passengers into the Lava Beds Monument; otherwise, the entrance fee is $20. Contact info for field trips is Kathy Pyle, 541-324-3077, kmpyle2@yahoo.com.
Member News
Eric has recorded a series of Shakespeare sonnet readings for the “Rogue Plague Theater. “ You can catch Eric’s performances on Facebook.
Kathy Pyle has a new blog. It’s called “Field Station.” Find it on WordPress in her new website, Second Nature.
This Memorial Day, remember to stay safe and socially distant as you venture out into this new world of ours.