Happy Equinox!
Here in my place, the Sierra fawn lilies (Erythronium multiscapideum) are making their annual spring show. John and I hiked out recently and spent a morning among them and their neighboring fritillaries, iris and McNab cypress. Endemic to California,
this species is just one member of a broader genus that delights spring wildflower lovers across much of the world.
Fawn lily, trout lily, adder's tongue, dog's tooth violet - are these among your spring ephemerals?
I love their elegant nodding, blush buds, their rich mottled leaves, the fact that they thrive on our harsh (though lovely glossy green)
serpentine soils and outcroppings. They appear each spring quite subtly and then like the frogs and the birds, they seem to sing the season in.
They are resilient and delicate all at once.
The amazing thing to me is that most of us, no matter where we live, take note this time of year of this miraculous annual occurrence: the wildflowers. They connect us. And as the seasons shift and they appear and recede, we are reminded of our very aliveness and- our humanity.
Which spring wildflowers are seasonal markers to you?
On this Vernal Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, I wanted to connect and wish you fawn lilies and other wildflowers, to wish you the noticing of nature's abundance and presence in the shifting weather, in your meadows and woodlands, in the spring chorus of frogs and nesting birds, and in your gardens - to guide you and ground you in the coming season in your cultivating community.
Coming soon, Cultivating Place has a lovely new sound from talent within our passion-project community - the celebrated Ma Muse - to herald the new season and our love of cultivating our places. So keep your ears open.
If you'd like a sneak listen, reply to your Cultivating Place email, or sign up for the newsletter and email me at cultivatingplace (at) gmail.com - I will send your sample along!
Happy spring,
Jennifer
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