Wildflowers

Eucalyptus Beauty

Los Angeles Arboretum.

Eucalyptus Trees

These special Eucalyptus trees were at the Los Angeles Arboretum. I loved the colors of the bark. They were called Eucalyptus deglupta or Mindanao Gum, native to New Guinea and the Phillipines.

Datura Bloom

At the Lavender Festival, out in the lavender fields there was an occasional Datura plant. This was a flower on one of the plants. I liked the nice purple tinge on the edges of the petals. Also known as Thorn Apple and Jimson Weed. Either way, it is poisonous.

Jimson Weed in Bloom

It's that time of year for the Jimson Weed to be in flower, and I found these purple-tinged blooms at Whitewater Canyon Preserve yesterday. So often they are pure white--very pretty--but the purple ones are my favorite.

Jimson Weed Flower

One of many beautiful flowers of Jimson Weed in Whitewater Canyon Preserve.

California Poppies

The California State Flower, the CA Poppy, is a beautiful golden orange. This shows the buds, flowers and seedpods. Judith Sparhawk

Texas Bluebonnets ~ Springtime in Texas means fields of beautiful bluebonnets.

Bluebonnets in Texas

No wonder they talk about this flower as being such a favorite in Texas. I have seen many species of lupine in many places, but these are the brightest blue ever!

Free At Last! ~ My new milkweed plant has many seed pods on it. This is the first one to open up, to let out its seeds. They began to lift and fly in the afternoon breeze. I had to grab my camera to capture them before they could fly away.

Pyramid of Seeds ~ Another shot of the milkweed seeds just out of one of the small pods on the plant I just got. Still waiting for a Monarch to happen by and choose it for a home for it's babies!

Me & My Shadow

~ All these seeds came out of a small pod milkweed plant. I liked the way the one on the right showed its shadow. They glistened beautifully in the sunlight.

Milkweed Seeds

~ This is a close-up of some of the milkweed seeds from the plant in my patio. I loved the shine from the sunlight.

Puff Ball ~ This seed head and bud of the Yellow Salsify was photographed at Cherry Creek State Park in Colorado. I loved the pattern and shine in the seeds of this puff ball, which was several inches across.

Matilija Poppy

This beautiful poppy is a wildflower of spring in Southern California. This one was very large--about 6 inches across.

Dogwood in the Sky

Dogwood in the Sky ~ The Pacific Dogwood trees are blooming in the mountains now, with many blossoms covering the boughs. They are a lovely sight.

Pacific Dogwood

~ The Pacific Dogwood trees are blooming in the mountains now, with many blossoms covering the boughs. They are a lovely sight.

Poppies Two ~ More California Poppies from nearby the Antelope Valley poppy preserve.

Poppies Four ~ The California Poppies were lovely among the Goldfields and other wildflowers. This type of poppy tends to have smaller blooms and grow low to the ground. Close-ups like this require hands-and-knees shooting.

California Poppies

Field of Gold ~ I went to the Antelope Valley to visit the California Poppy Preserve. Despite our rainy winter, it wasn't one of the best poppy flowering years. Still, I found some wonderful pockets of blooming poppies. The little yellow flowers around the poppies are called Goldfields, and can blanket whole hillsides in yellow.

White Starburst ~ I'm not sure what this plant is, but I liked the look of these star-like clusters. This is actually the seed cluster, which disperses the seeds similarly to a thistle seed head. I photographed both the full cluster and a partial one. This was out at the poppy preserve, which is considered high desert, in the Antelope Valley, California.

California Gold ~ It was very windy out at the poppy preserve (which is common), so shots of poppies were taken quickly whenever the wind let up for a second or two.

The Burst Starburst ~ This photo shows the partial seed clusters of the as yet unidentified plant.

Blue Columbine

Columbine Beauty ~ This blue columbine bloom was the largest I had ever seen and was very pretty. I fell in love with the blue version of this plant when I lived in Colorado, where it grows in the wild, and is the state flower.

Lotsa Baby Blues

~ One section of Descanso Gardens is called the California Garden, and is planted with only native plants of this state. One of the wildflower sections had these beautiful Baby Blue Eyes. They were one of my favorite wildflowers as a child, and I enjoyed seeing them there.

Desert Jewel

~ This beautiful flower was the only bloom on a Thorn Apple or Jimson Weed plant at Keys Ranch in Joshua Tree National Park. It was the largest flower of this type I''seen--about 8 inches across. I loved the purple edges on the petals.

Wild Fuchsias

These delicate fuchsias were growing in the wild in northern California. I am assuming they are a wildflower there, though I may be wrong and they are several generations away from a cultivated plant.

Wild Roses Galore ~ These large and beautiful wild roses were covering a trailside in Pt. Reyes National Seashore, along the California Coast. Their scent filled the early morning air.

Wild Roses Three ~ My love affair with Wild Roses began as a three or four year old child, reaching up to smell their sweet spicy scent during Alaskan summers. Today, more than 60 years later, stooping to smell wild roses, their scent takes me back to Alaska in the summer.

White on White

This pretty white flower was photographed at Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden in Claremont, CA. I don't recall the name of this flower, but this garden specializes in growing only native California plants. Judith Sarhawk

The Honeymaker

This honey bee was buzzing around these beautiful white wildflowers.

Yellow Lupine

Although I always think of purple or blue lupine, this type of yellow is real, it does exist.

Morning Glory

I liked the subtle coloring of this morning glory at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA.

Lavender Bells

Tree Poppy

Photographed at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, CA.

Wild White Iris

These delicate white iris are a wild variety that grow in California. The Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont is a wonderful garden of all native California plants.

California Poppies

These pretty poppies were photographed at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, CA. This garden grows only native California plants, and is a great stop for wildflowers in spring.

Tree Poppy

These pretty flowers are Tree Poppies, and were photographed at Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont.

Blue-eyed Grass

This wildflower was photographed at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA.

Indian Pond Lily

~ This interesting flowering water plant was photographed at Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden in Claremont, CA. This wonderful garden grows only native plants of California, and is fun to hike in and explore.