Alpine forget-me-nots by Erik Stensland. Published with permission
Estes Park photographer Erik Stensland shot these alpine forget-me-nots, above, in June 2015. But they can be found every summer in Colorado’s high country.
Forget-me-nots are my favorite alpine wildflower (tied with columbine), and their intense blue is only part of the reason. I’ve a great fondness for tiny things and due to the harsh weather at high altitudes, tundra plants like these forget-me-nots are quite small. How small? Here they are next to a dime:
How could anyone not love these exquisite miniature flowers?
I first became aware of them years ago when my brother sent me a paperweight with a mix of tiny Colorado wildflowers embedded in it. The forget-me-not was the star of the show, and though they grow in many states, they seem to me like Colorado’s reminder to “forget me not.”
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Those flowers are just splendid, and so tiny; the marvels of Mother Nature, only wish I knew the diameter of a dime to truly understand how small these really are; perhaps a rule/ruler would help we aliens 😀
The US Mint says the diameter of a dime is 17.91mm. Pretty darn small– pretty delicate looking, but how hardy they must be to survive in the alpine tundra world!
Silly me. I thought briefly of pulling out a dime and a tape measure! (Senior moment!) For us non-metric-speaking Muricans, 17.91 mm is .705″.
So tiny, but not to be overlooked with that intense color
Gotta love ’em.