Gurley Place. Place???

Ever hear of Gurley Place? No? Most people haven't, not even long-time residents of the city. But it's there, half a block west of Park Ave., branching off Gurley St. to climb a little bluff. More important, it provides access to all of four houses overlooking Gurley St. plus the parking lot for a former church.

Not only is it a neat little walk, Gurley Place provides one of my favorite middle-of-town wildflower spots. The property between Gurley St. proper and its offspring belongs to the city -- and is pleasantly neglected. This means not only cans and plastic bags -- but also a place for one of the better stands of red gilia that I've found in town.

Even better, last year, after our wet late winter, there was a spectacular showing of wild blue delphinium. What really surprised me was that this was a better display than I've seen out in the field hereabouts.

That was then. This is now. I checked last week, only to find that the many delphinium plants that had sprung up were either totally wilted or already dried up.

Alas.

The gilia appear to be made of sterner stuff -- they are still growing. So far. I'll keep you posted.