Day 57: Kangaroo Paw

As I've mentioned in previous posts, we discovered all sorts of new plants, flowers, fruits, and veges when we moved to Sacramento.  One of the most striking plants that caught our fancy is the colorful and furry kangaroo paw.  Most often, we've seen the reddish version, which was scattered all around the landscape of a house in Land Park that I passed today during my run:

As the name suggests, these flowers are originally from and native to Australia, according to a brief description from the Better Homes and Gardens web site: Make a bold statement in your garden with kangaroo paw. This unusual perennial comes from Australia and bears strappy green leaves and upright spikes of fuzzy flowers in radioactively brilliant colors. The blooms last a long time and make great cut flowers.

When we were still cultivating flower pots out on our patio, we also incorporated the bright yellow style of the kangaroo paw:

This is still one of my favorite "California" flowers, as I certainly hadn't ever seen it during my years on the East Coast or in the Midwest, even if it's an import from across the seas.  Like many other species, the kangaroo paw isn't native to California but has adopted the Golden State as its new home.