Bewitching flowers, wonderfully easy to take care of!
Crown Brodiaea has only a few grasslike leaves, and very low growing flowers, usually only about 6-8 inches high. That might sound like a plant that's easy to miss, but Crown Brodiaea is actually incredibly eyecatching! Early through mid-summer, it blooms with rich, vibrant purples. Each plant puts up a few flowers, and increases the number of blooms over time. Its size and color makes this a good plant for garden borders, or for creating purple swathes.
Growing from an edible corm, Crown Brodiaea has been used as a food plant for thousands of years by Coast Salish peoples. In our area, it is very common in grasslands on Vancouver Island, in the San Juan Islands, and in South Puget Sound prairies. This makes it a good candidate for a garden plant - it pretty much just needs moist winter soil, dry summer soil, and sun - a very common combination!
Photo Credit: "Brodiaea coronaria" by davidbroadland is marked with CC0 1.0.