Sensational Seasonals

When you think of summer flowers, what vision of beauty comes to mind? Delicious dinnerplate dahlias?  Sumptuious hydrangeas?  Delicate sweet peas?  All those flowers are fabulous, and I admired all of those beauties when I visited my local supplier, but what really made an impression were the cobra lilies. 

Yes, I said cobra lilies, but no, they are not actually  lilies.  They are nicknamed cobra lilies for the way the flower resembles the hood of an Indian Cobra (think snake charmer).  These beauties are part of the pitcher plant family—carnivorous flowers.  With a diet consisting of insects, these exotic flowers can be found in the U.S.—closer than you think—California and Oregon.  I actually have a plant in my backyard; whether it survives our Northwest winter is another story.  I have to say that I am less concerned about about the snakes living near me, even though they are only garter snakes.