I’ve traveled to the Pacific Northwest for decades on plant buying excursions for my career in the nursery business. In the later years before retiring, I stretched the trip to include visits to a few gardens and hikes in the Olympic Mountains. So, here I am again, and this time I brought along my wife to explore first hand the sights that I’ve described to her. Our first days were on snowy Mount Rainier.

I will hike all day, every day, but Barbara is more sensible, enjoying a day of rest and not hiking to extreme altitudes. So, we’ve scheduled a mix, one or two days hiking, then a more relaxed day, usually strolling a garden or two. One thing is certain, in a garden or high in the mountains, we’ll stop to enjoy every interesting plant along the way.

Years ago, I first became infatuated with the area’s variety of native mahonias (Berberis aquifolium and others), but this week we’re also smitten by bunchberries (Cornus canadensis, above) and white and yellow flowered dogtooth violets (Erythronium, below). In our garden the dogtooth violets flowered a few months ago, but these have recently emerged from beneath melting snow. Unfortunately, it’s likely that our garden is a bit too warm for the creeping dogwoods.

At high elevations (for us), we see Pasqueflowers and many heathers that shelter beside boulders. Here, we’re above the tree line with a cool breeze on an unusually warm afternoon.

With a few wrong turns and detours in the snow our Mount Rainier hike came in a few miles and a thousand feet of elevation over budget. The snow tired out these old bones, but the next day we’re back for more.