Anyone recognize this pretty flower? It's growing wild all over the place in North Central Idaho. I'm sorry that I didn't get a close-up of the foliage. I can do that if needed.

Most of the plants are at least a foot tall, and the flowers are about an inch across. Thanks for any help! I would love to collect some seeds from this plant so that I can start it growing on my property.

Those flowers sure look like phlox to me, but I don't think I have seen the form before.

I think it is Phlox austromontana, but there are a number of similar species.

My first thought was phlox as well, but I really wasn't sure if that was it. I've grown mostly tall garden phlox, and this doesn't look like that plant. I've also grown woodland phlox, and while it looked nothing like the one I grew, it could be that one. This is the only photo in the database that looked the same, but there is no picture of the plant to compare it to.

The flowers looked like those on Creeping Phlox to me, but I know that wasn't it. Used Kent's ID and pulled these two from the web as samples:

http://swbiodiversity.org/sein...
http://www.americansouthwest.n...

Thanks Debra. I found those also, from Kent's suggestion. I need to go get a picture of the foliage. Don't know why I didn't take a picture of it at the time. I think I was just happy to see that pretty bloom up close, and I forgot!

Very pretty ... and pretty scenery in the background of that last photo too, love the hills and mountains.

More images of Phlox austromontana:

http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/...

Thanks Lin! I think that was the first page I visited, but without pictures of the foliage, I won't be able to narrow it down. I'll try to do that this week.

Your dog is gorgeous!

Thanks Natalie ... we love our "Bo". He was already 7 months old when we got him and he just turned a year old a few weeks ago. He's a big, lovable, goofy boy!

My Golden is 11, and not doing too good, but I'm hoping that she makes it to 12 in November. Our last Golden, Bud, was several months old when we got him. His original name was Bo! It just didn't fit him, so it got changed to Bud. He was my flower Bud! They are awesome dogs!

Aww ... she is an old girl; I will keep good thoughts and prayers that she is around awhile longer for her family. It's so hard when they get old and we know their time with us is short. But, they bring us so much joy during the short time we are allowed to care for them.

Our Golden was named "Jep" when we got him but it didn't seem to fit. My husband teaches in the aviation field so our boy became Boeing (after the aircraft manufacturer) ... Bo for short.

Thanks Lin. Every day now, we think she is about at the end, and then she will surprise us and go climbing up and down the hills! We've been trying to prepare ourselves, but it's impossible to do that, really. We know she won't be around too much longer, because we won't let her suffer. Once the pain medicine no longer works, we'll say goodbye. It's getting close to that point now. Bud died at age 9 of cancer, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if Maggie has cancer too, but we wouldn't treat it, so we aren't having her tested for it. It's her hips that are bad though, and have been since she was very young. But, I took her knowing that she had issues. She's a special girl, and has lived a very good life. We also have two Labs, so there is never a dull moment around here! Bo sure doesn't look like a Jep to me!

My husband is a licensed aircraft mechanic, but has never worked in the field. When he found out that beginning mechanics make about $10 an hour, we decided that we don't want to fly again! He's retired from the Navy, and the VA sent him to school. He ended up with a degree in geography, which he has enjoyed. Beats working on a plane!

I went for a drive today, to get some pictures of the foliage on this plant. I was shocked that I couldn't find those beautiful pink blooms anywhere! Apparently word got out last night that they are tasty, and something ate them! Probably some deer. I know lots of places that I've seen them, but without those pink blooms, I'd never be able to figure out which plant they were on. So, I'll close this thread, and try again next year!

Natalie, it really is impossible to prepare ourselves for the final goodbyes to fur babies. We just have to know when it's time to let them go so that they don't suffer and that's always a sad and heartbreaking time. Oh my ... your house sounds like my sister and her husband with the three dogs. They had a yellow lab, black lab and an english mastiff; both labs died of old age a few years back and they lost a male mastiff to cancer a couple of years ago. They now have two more mastiffs, a 3 year old male who weighs @ 250 lbs. and a 1 year old female who is right at 200 lbs ... and they are going to be getting another mastiff puppy in the near future. There pet food bills must be astronomical, LOL.

How interesting ... my husband is also a licensed aircraft mechanic and was in the Navy from 1969-1973. Before he enlisted he got his A&P license at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University here in Daytona Beach. He always knew he wanted to eventually teach so after the Navy he worked as an auto mechanic while going to school two nights a week. He got his Bachelor's and Masters degrees and has been teaching at Embry Riddle University for 38 years. His teaching career is winding down now and his plan is to retire in another two years but we'll see ... he's one that can't sit still and will need a hobby or something to keep busy after retirement. He's taking a sabbatical next year so he'll be off for almost 7 months and he says that should give him an idea whether he can handle retirement.

Luckily our Labs are young, so we won't have to go through more old age loss any time soon. Jackson is almost 9 months, and Bailey is 3 1/2 years, so they will hopefully be around for many years. We got Jackson to keep Bailey busy, last October. We were sure Maggie was on her last leg at that point, but she surprised us! We got new pain medicine for her at about the time Jackson arrived, and she was running around like a new dog again! So, she has had a few really good months, and I can't ask for more than that. We won't get another dog after Maggie is gone. Two very active Labs are plenty for us!

My husband sounds like your husband! This is our third attempt at retirement, and I think this one will stick. The last one failed due to boredom. Now that we have acreage to take care of, it keeps him busy, and I can't imagine how he could get bored here! He was medically retired after 24 years in the Navy, in 2002, due to very bad ankles. They fixed one, but that took over a year of him not being able to walk. After that, it wasn't strong enough to fix the other one, so they retired him. He taught navigation at the University of Utah for 4 years, at the ROTC, and decided that he didn't want to teach again, so the VA sent him to college. That is when he got his A & P license, because they wouldn't pay for flight school. Still can't figure out why he wanted to be a pilot, but it's what he wanted! After realizing he didn't want to work on planes, he got his degree in geography. This retirement better stick because the closest place to work is a really long drive!