Camassia quamash

I recently visited a local nursery that specializes in Pacific Northwest native plants, Bosky Dell Natives, in search of the subject of my next painting.  It is such a luxury to not only have a nice selection of well grown, potted plants to choose from but also to be able to pick Leslie’s brain.  She is an employee and a virtual encyclopedia of native plant information.

I found many tempting possible subjects, but finally narrowed it down to Iris douglasiana and Camassia quamash, or Common Camas.  It is late in the season for both plants but I was able to find a few that were still in bloom or in bud.  Leslie asked if I had been to the Camassia Natural Area in nearby West Linn, where the Camas blooms profusely, along with many other wildflowers, in April and early May.  I decided to stop by later in the day to see the Camasssia habitat and companion plants.

Although it was dusk by the time I got there, I managed to get a few photos.

Camassia quamash

Oak woodland on rocky plateau

Madrone trees in the dusk

The nature preserve is located in the middle of suburbia, where 26 acres of Oak woodland and meadows atop the rocky bluffs overlooking the Clackamas and Willamette Rivers have been set aside and protected by The Nature Conservancy.  The Common Camas mostly grows in the meadows, where we were able to find a few still in bloom.  It must be quite a sight at the height of the season when the meadows turn blue with Camas blossoms.

I have already started my preliminary drawings of the Camassia, and hope to get some sketches of the Douglas Iris done as well before they finish blooming.  I’ll keep you posted!