These natives are flowering in an area once completely covered in cape ivy. Seeds lying in wait and persisting. Two of these, phacelia (top) and miniature lotus (bottom), are new to our Elkhorn Slough plant list. The miniature lotus is about 4 inches long and about an inch high. The flowers only a few millimeters. I find them because I crawl on my hands and knees to pull weeds and look closely at every plant about to flower. I think it's being so intimate with a new place and witnessing Spring. Even though I grew up in these hills, I didn't know these plants then. Now I am so close and familiar with them on a regular basis. It's like any new relationship - you can't wait to see them again.
