A wonderfully showy meadow classic!
Every summer, Farewell To Spring creates large swathes of pink across the west coast. It is one of the brightest, largest grassland flowers in the area. Also known as Four Spot, each light pink flower has four leaves, each of which has a darker pink spot on it.
There are several subspecies of Farewell To Spring. Each tends to have different-sized spots. Ours (Clarkia Amoena ssp. Lindleyi) is native to the Seattle area and Oregon, and typically has four small magenta dots.
Farewell To Spring is visited by a wide variety of native bees and butterflies. Out of all of them, our favorite to watch are native Leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.). These bees cut half-circles out of leaves, and then take them to line their nests. But they don't just cut leaves - they also cut flower petals! Typically leaves go on the outside, with soft petals on the inside. Farewell To Spring is an absolute favorite of Leafcutter bees. If you have it in your garden, you too can watch these gentle animals gather bedding for the next generation of baby bees.
