My name is Anna Lindquist. I'm a personal and professional plant geek based in the Intermountain West. I am particularly obsessed with native plants and am always in awe of the magical landscapes that native plant communities create. I've tried my best to recreate them in my garden, but I find that nature always does what's best. I moved to Utah two years before she did, and unfortunately I don't currently have space for gardening in my rental property, so I have had to rely more on public land for natural habitat. At the confluence of multiple ecoregions, Utah has a little bit of everything. These photos show the beautiful diversity of plants found throughout the state, from deserts to alpine regions.
Calocortus—Escalante Desert, Pueblo Land. Calocortus A genus of bulbs native to western North America that produces beautiful, intricately patterned flowers.
Orobanche—Escalante Desert, Pueblo Land. Orobanche As a parasitic plant, it has no leaves and simply takes nutrients from the host plant it is attached to and emerges above the ground to flower.
castile—Uinta Mountains, lands of the Eastern Shoshone people. castile Native to western North America, small flowers bloom between colorful, showy bracts. They are considered “hemiparasites,” meaning they attach to the roots of other plants and take in water and nutrients, but they also have leaves to photosynthesize themselves. Although often difficult to cultivate in gardens, they are a beautiful part of the Western wild landscape.
Eriogonum—Uinta Mountains, lands of the Eastern Shoshone people. Eriogonum, Also known as wild buckwheat, this plant is a wonderful garden plant perfect for arid western gardens, thriving in very dry conditions and producing large clusters of showy flowers, usually in shades of yellow.
Aspens and maples shine in fall, the lands of the Wasatch Front, eastern Shoshone, and Goshte tribes. One expression of nature that can never be matched in a garden is the best of fall foliage.
Erythronium (probably Erythronium grandiflorum, Zones 4-9) – Wasatch Front, Eastern Shoshone, and Goshte lands. Also known as trout lilies, these bulbs are native to nearly every region of North America and are characterized by attractive mottled foliage and lily-like flowers.
rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus) Seeds – Desert of western Utah, Ute lands. Native to the arid West, these shrubs produce clouds of yellow flowers in the summer that turn into clouds of fluffy white seeds in the fall.
To see more of Anna's beautiful photography and celebration of Western native plants, check out her Instagram. @anna_linden_twig
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