Cistus Salviifolius

After spending the first half of the year on experiments, I gingerly eased myself back into pure paper shapes by revisiting a theme from the past two years—

Flower portraiture.

Cistus salviifolius, also known as the sage leaf rock rose, grows abundantly in some western San Francisco parks. It is not native to California. But it grows happily in coastal Mediterranean habitats like ours. It thrives especially well on rocky hillsides, which is where I first noticed the blooms.

It masquerades as a nondescript, fuzzy green shrub for most of the year. But come spring, the silvery green leaves are overshadowed by brilliant pink buds and an explosion of white and yellow flowers. And because the plant stretches out quite far—up to 8 feet wide, or quadruple its height—it looks like an undulating rug of color flowing over the banks of rocks and grass.

Supposedly, each flower lasts only a single day. That must be why I saw such a proliferation of pink for weeks on end.

Though, it’s hard to imagine that those buds can create such a large blooming tapestry for months at a stretch. Imagine the effect when a multitude of cistus spreads across the entire length of a park.

I can scarcely wrap my head around the number of blooms required for such a show.