Rocky Mountain Wildflowers — Identifying Wildflowers

In December 2015, Linda Nagy received her Colorado Flora Certificate. “While I was researching and writing Rocky Mountain Wildflowers Field Guide in 2013, I joined the Colorado Native Plant Society and began taking their scientific courses to increase my knowledge of the wildflower flora in Colorado. The Colorado Native Plant Society has excellent resources, data bases, and knowledgeable teachers to provide information on Colorado’s more than 2500 different plant species,” said Linda. In 2013, Linda began taking courses both indoors in classrooms and outdoors on nature trails and completed her work in 2015.      To earn the certificate it is necessary to...

      This year there are fantastic wildflower displays all over Colorado. Blooming now are Lupine, Indian Paintbrushes, Columbine, Mariposa Lilies, and Aspen Sunflowers---just to mention a few. These wildflowers and others have created more interest and demand for Rocky Mountain Wildflower Field Guide as people want to identify the flowers. The handy pocket-sized guide written by naturalist Linda Nagy with photographs by her award-winning photographer husband Bernie Nagy is selling well throughout Colorado. Last year in August the book received from Colorado Independent Publishers Association three top awards in the book categories of Reference, Nature, and Layout and Interior Design....

This year is proving to be a spectacular year for wildflowers. Along roadways, trails, and in fields and in high country meadows, colorful blooms can be seen everywhere in abundance. If you have a chance, you should visit Crested Butte Colorado during the 2015 Crested Butte Wildflower Festival. The week-long event takes place July 13-19 with additional events continuing through August. Even if you don’t attend scheduled events that are well worth the price, you can travel the back roads on your own to enjoy fantastic wildflower displays.      Aspen Sunflowers and Meadow with Larkspur, Aspen Sunflowers and Mule's Ears...

Let’s hear it for the school children of Colorado! Twice they have influenced the legislature in naming official state symbols. The Rocky Mountain Columbine began its road to becoming the state flower in1891 as it was voted overwhelming the favorite flower of Colorado’s school children. The white and lavender Columbine, Aquilegia caerulea or coerulea, was adopted as the official state flower on April 4, 1899 by an act of the General Assembly.       Discovered in 1820 on Pike's Peak by mountain climber Edwin James, the columbine was also named and described by him. The two spelling confusions are due...

   My husband, Bernie Nagy, and I co-published our second award-winning coffee table book, South Park, Colorado: Nature’s Paradise in 2012 that included photographs and common names of over 100 wildflowers. Soon afterwards, we began receiving many inquiries for a smaller book of wildflowers to take on trails. I began working on Rocky Mountains Wildflowers Field Guide to fulfill those requests. Bernie had taken a several thousand photographs of Colorado Wildflowers over the past few years, so I began writing a compact guide with the idea to have detailed clear photographs, names, and a brief description of each wildflower. A...