Harvest Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria)

Because Victoria is on the Northwest Pacific Coast people often assume that (like Vancouver) Victoria is a very rainy place. It's not. It's much drier than Vancouver and by this time of year much of spring's green grass and ground cover has dried and turned a coppery golden shade. It's about this time of year that we see this lovely little purple wildflower called Harvest Brodiaea. The above-ground parts of the plant wither by the time it blooms so all one sees are these little flowers floating above the dry grass. These were photographed a few days ago in Highrock Park.

Crown Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria)

While out at Cattle Point last week I was pleased to see this brightly colored wildflower scattered quite thickly among the dry grass above the shoreline. This is Crown Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria).

Crown Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria)

I rode out to Witty's Lagoon yesterday and was happy to discover a small patch of these lovely little flowers beside the trail that leads from the parking lot down to the lagoon and beach. Their common name is Crown Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria) but they are also known as Fool's Onion since they grow from an onion-like corm that is reputed to be both nutritious and tasty and was prized by Native Peoples and early settlers to this area. Witty's Lagoon is named after one of those early settlers. The same man donated the land for the building of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin that was featured here a few weeks ago. Both the church and the lagoon (a Capital Regional District Park) are located in Metchosin, one of the Western Communities.