It's said that when Hudson Bay Factor (and later Governor) James Douglas was sailing past this place in 1843, he saw these meadows of
Camas Lilies on the slopes of Beacon Hill and decided to found Fort Victoria nearby. What he thought was a natural phenomenon we now know was a human artifact. These glorious meadows are the result of selective cultivation by the local Lekwammen native people, who harvested the edible roots of the Blue Camas Lily as food. They called Victoria "Camosun", which means something like "place of Camas." While the Camas here are no longer harvested, they still form a fabulous carpet of blue on Beacon Hill at this time of year. The intermixed white flowers are
Fawn Lilies and the yellow are
Buttercups.
5 comments:
I love pictures like this. Maybe I'll drive over there today and see if I can find them.
Now I'm homesick.
This floral carpet is incredible.
Nice photo, I really like wild flowers, even if cultivated ones.
Leeds Photo Daily
Simply beautiful!
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