One of my favorite Central Oregon wildflowers– Showy Milkweed. These huge plants with large fuzzy leaves and a giant flower cluster look so otherworldly they’ll stop any hiker on the trail for a peek. They can look so out of place in our high desert landscape that we call them “alien plant” here at the ranch. .
Did you know that Central Oregon is a breeding ground for monarch butterflies ? Never seen a monarch here? Neither had we until two summers ago we saw three! Milkweed is the only host plant for monarch caterpillars. While I’ve yet to find eggs or caterpillars here, just in case some monarch wants a stopover, we have a waiting salad bar in our native milkweed patches.
