Asclepias speciosa
This is the ideal food for Monarch butterflies, I am told, though I haven't seen them here. For me, this plant begins my paean of gratitude to Charlotte, who if there were such a person, would be Charlotte Milkweed-Seed. If you need milkweed around Palouse, she can fix you up.
Anyone in Palouse reading this will know what I mean, when I say that our town of about a thousand has a weirdly high proportion of wonderful generous, creative, and brilliant people. I already mentioned my first native plant sensei, Jim, who helped me realize that we were surrounded by magnificent plant life here, in the dwindling era of what was the Great Palouse prairie. I've given a shout-out to Jacie Jensen of Thorn Creek Native Seeds, who sells authentic local native plant seed. But there are many here, and one is Charlotte, who has given me some spectacular plants, including this massive Showy milkweed that was the first milkweed I planted. As you can see, it has decided that it belongs here. This is truly the Mother of All Milkweeds. Between Charlotte, the Idaho Native Plant Society (White Pine Chapter) plant sale, and Jacie Jensen's seeds, I have a couple of dozen growing here now.
We are now at what I understand is "peak prairie," when the tallest plants push up as high as they will go, blooming their best out there, the grass going to seed.
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