Published 11:00 am Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Bellingham, Washington, author Ellen Kuhlmann has earned her wildflower bona fides. Trained as a botanist, Kuhlmann worked for the U.S. Forest Service for about 12 years. After that, she worked for six years in Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation, a program of the University of Washington’s Botanic Gardens, doing native plant seed collection . Or as she simply refers to it, Rare Care. “Through those experiences, I got a lot of day in and day out exposure to native plants and to habitats,” said Kuhlmann, who has more recently turned her attention to penning guidebooks, including two new guides: “Western Washington and Oregon in Bloom” and “Eastern Washington and Oregon in Bloom,” published May 19 by Timber Press.…