Wild Irises

Wild Irises
            I love the name “wild iris.” It sounds like a flower making merry on the party scene. 
            I’ve enjoyed seeing irises that are safely ensconced in flowerpots and backyards in recent days. These stunning flowers grown from store-bought bulbs brought memories of the wild irises I’ve seen over the years hiking in Marin County. For some reason, I especially remember seeing bewitchingly beautiful irises when walking around Lake Lagunitas. 
            I didn’t take my best iris photos there, but I decided that if my memory kept coming back to the irises of Lake Lagunitas, that’s where this week’s archive hike should be.
            As a kid growing up in farm country in the Adirondack Foothills, there weren’t many occasions for me to see commercially grown roses. What I do remember are the wild roses that grew along the old stone fence at the edge of our backyard. I knew the flowers by sight but not by name when I was little. When someone said, “Those are wild roses,” it added an exciting new dimension. Having the name “wild” in front gives a flower an appealing flair.
            Do you have a type of flower that you know both commercially cultivated varieties and wild varieties for? Do you like one or the other better?
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives takes readers around the Lake Lagunitas Loop, a hike on one of five pretty lakes in the Marin Watershed that is a family friendly distance of under two miles for the full circle around the lake.
            When you’re out on a trail, keep an eye out for wild blossoms, which sometimes peek out from under surrounding plants. Keep putting one foot forward!
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This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 15: Lake Lagunitas Loop