Rocky Mountain Wildflowers — Pocket Field Guide

From mid-June through mid-July a wide array of wildflowers can be discovered at Green Mountain State Park, along the wood-shaded trails at Reynolds Park and along the mountain trails at Golden State Park.  All three parks are near Denver making them great destinations for day hikes.      Sugarbowl and Wallflowers              Cutleaf Anemone         Blue Mist Penstemon The plants shown here were photographed at the parks and are just a few of the 272 wildflowers pictures and described in the newly published Rocky Mountain Wildflowers Field Guide by Linda Nagy, who received...

      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...

      One early-blooming beauty is hard to find and endangered by collectors in the Colorado Rockies. If one has a keen eye and a little luck, he or she just might spot a Fairy Slipper or Calypso Orchid growing in shaded forests among leaf litter on the forest floor. This tiny exotic plant, Calypso bulbosa, is a member of the Orchid Family and has 3 slender pink petal-like sepals, 2 small petals, and one bulb-like petal that forms the slipper shape. A single leaf appears before the blossom appears and remains until the flower goes to seed. Plants grow from...