Flowers Everywhere!

This first flower is Fireweed, which grows everywhere in the north. There are large meadows of it along the highway. It gets its name from the fact that it is the first wildflower to grow in an area that has been burned. The first sign of it is reason for excitement, as it means winter is over, and spring is in the air. It blooms all summer, and when it finishes blooming and the seeds fall off, that means winter will be right around the corner.



I read somewhere that Alaska has 14 varieties of Cotton Grass. When you touch these they feel just like a cotton ball, and even though the seeds look light and "fluffy", they don't blow in the breeze like dandelion fluff - the seeds just fall off and cover the ground in a soft layer. It's no wonder there are large patches of this grass along the sides of the road.


These particular flowers are from Tawni's back yard - Tori picked me a bouquet...

Just a small sampling of some of the other flowers we found. Mom and I ended up with LOTS of flower pictures!