My Dear Meadowfoam

Spring brings many happy things: longer days, warmer weather, and, in my case, the reemergence of forgotten or presumed lost garden friends.

Last spring I visited an annual native plant sale at the Audubon Society and bought a little flower called "Douglas' Meadowfoam" (Limnanthes douglasii), known also by the less desirable name "Poached Egg". 

Sweet summer flowers

I enjoyed this sweet, yellow-flowered herb in the summer until it lost its flowers and the foliage started to wilt.  I thought I had killed it.  Luckily for me, it turns out Douglas' Meadowfoam is an annual, and a self-seeding one at that.  Last week I noticed new growth in the pot that formerly contained my little yellow friend.  Sure enough, after a quick image search for Douglas' Meadowfoam's winter appearance, I established my meadowfoam hadn't been lost.  Where once there was one plant, I now had over a dozen!

Today, I took advantage of a sunny window in an overcast day to transplant the bitty seedlings to their new home along the top of our urbanite wall (more on that later). 

Welcome home, little ones.

Here, they're nestled between coastal strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) and western bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa).  My hope is that they'll continue to spread by reseeding and fill in this space nicely over the years.

As I was nestling the babes into their new home, a woman walking by asked me what I was planting and if she could have one for her garden.  It's amazing how interactive a home garden can be!  Being out in the garden has allowed me to meet more of my neighbors and become more a part of my community.  Gardens are great things, aren't they?