Everything was coated with a layer of ice this morning.  It made for a slow commute to work.  Much of the snow in the backyard has melted because of yesterday's rain.  There is dirt showing in the raised garden beds.  It made me begin to envision what the flowers are going to look like in the summer.

I want to add more natural wildflowers to the yard.  When my new home was built, the ground was disturbed and I've had fireweed begin to grow under a tall spruce.  It has reseeded itself for three years now.  It is one of my favorite flowers.  I found a wild area last summer where the fireweed formed fields of purple.  It was beautiful!  There were butterflies and hummingbirds everywhere.

I would like to incorporate some wild asters.  They are not fussy about where they grow and the butterflies love them as well.

When I go camping and admire the wildflowers in the area, I marvel at how they are capable of growing through gravel or in narrow cracks in large boulders.  It is that kind of hardiness that I'm looking for; something that I can plant and forget about.