The rolling hills area of the Pacific Northwest (Palouse) used to be vast meadowland covered in flowers with very few trees before it was converted for human agricultural use. Apparently, this would result in hills being completely covered by singular types of flowers, making them purple or red, etc. Purple was pretty common, I think? Been a while since I learned about the Palouse region.
Even within ecosystems, there's some unexpected stuff. The San Juan islands have a native cactus species, for example.
One place that's pretty neat is Fort Worden, in Port Townsend. That's just west of Seattle across the water. It's got this weird mix of being right near the sea, partially in woodland, and also having some cool historic stuff. The fort began being built in the late 1890s. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f6/c2/85/f6c285ac2f532ac72a52e64c850fb038.jpg
Bit of everything in that region, really. If you can manage it, try to visit the Puget Sound region (Hood Canal is probably the best place to go) during the late summer and get in a canoe or kayak or whatever at sundown. Get onto the water and watch your paddles and the edges of your boat. Alternatively, you can stay on land and use a stick, but it doesn't have quite the same effect.
