California native plants are my number one plant love.


These pictures were taken in December 2010.

chaparral currant


This is the same species but a more pinkish individual



These pictures were taken in January

white chaparral currant (This is a different species from the pinkish "chaparral currant" above.)



silk tassel bush


Ceanothus megacarpus is blooming everywhere





milkmaids



These pictures were taken in February

shooting stars



canyon sunflower


purple nightshade



a very floriferous Ceanothus megacarpus


From a greater distance than about arm's length, Ceanothus crassifolius looks pretty much like the Ceanothus megacarpus shown above. The main difference is the leaf shape.



Since all of the plants at trail level were Ceanothus crassifolius, I'll go out on a limb and say that all of these blooming plants are all C. crassifolius.




California peony


two-tone everlasting, I think


I find it hard to get a good picture of prickly phlox in direct sun


This manzanita branch is a literal late-bloomer. The rest of the plant is producing fruits


Ceanothus cuneatus


bush poppy


crimson pitcher sage


Ceanothus spinosus



coast figwort has a tiny flower


encelia


goldback fern


Calfornia peony


wild sweet pea


redberry


California bay tree is related to the culinary bay tree and the leaves can be used in the same way


These miner's lettuce are variegated, which is not typical

Our wondrous rains have done wonders! My native salvias are getting ready to flower. The s. brandegei is flowering, some of the others just beginning.
Your photos are gorgeous...thanks.

I don't know how long the wildflowers will hold out this year. At my house, we've only had a quarter inch of rain since January 2. I have seen years dry enough that late season things like Humboldt lily and scarlet larkspur did not bloom.

Supposedly, in La Nina years, we get our rains in Oct., Nov., Dec. I'm hoping that's not all that we get. Local news here this a.m. calls for possibility of rain somewhere around Sunday-Monday. Most of my drought tolerant plantings are well enough established that they will start getting very, very little to 'no' supplemental water this year.

At this point, they are calling for a 20% chance Tues/Weds, but I'm not holding my breath. When we were out hiking locally on Monday, the ground was still damp in places where the sun doesn't shine. I was very surprised. Not only has it been rainless, it's been very windy with low humidity.

Quite a lot on my property is still wet in shady areas and areas with a lot of leaf litter.....that's good, 'cause I'm not watering.

You see the dampness come up in early AM, before the sun gets busy.

That would do it. I'm not up and dressed and out very early. I'd love to be a morning person - it seems more honorable - but I'm not.

"Seems more honorable..."lol....
I sometimes get up at 3, 4 or 5 a.m., but then go back to bed at 6 or 7 and get up at 10. I did 'honorable' for years, don't want to anymore.

Great photos, Kelli. We drove up to Tree of Life Nursery last weekend and wondered what all the white blossoms were on the hillsides - I thought perhaps ceanothus, now I'm pretty sure it was.

Chance of rain for Wednesday is up to 80% - whoo hoo!

I am up to let dogs out, and stand there outside to make sure they actually do their job, somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30. Tend to need a lovely nap in early afternoon

Here a a few more from last Saturday

collar lupine


prickly phlox


Deerweed is one of those things that looks interesting in a macro and ho-hum in real life.



The grass is going to seed. It won't be long before it turns brown.


Indian paintbrush


sticky monkeyflower


wild cucumber


wishbone bush, not quite open

I quite like the look of deerweed. It's a good filler and has a nice airy look with the surprise of pretty little flowers when you look closely. Would love to have Indian paintbrush - must look for some seed. And we noticed the wild cucumber growing over our bladderpod last year - I hope it doesn't spread more. It's pretty growing up into the pine tree, but I don't want it all over the place!

Nice photos, Kelli.

Paintbrush is a semiparasite of sagebrush, so you'd have to have some of that, too (or find a species that isn't parasitic).

Ahhh... I'll enjoy your photos, then, Kelli. Sagebrush and I don't get along.

Here are some more from Monday. My camera is in the repair shop, so I used DH's camera. It doesn't have the macro function.

fuchsia-flowering gooseberry


I think the little tussocks are sedges. The conifer is a redwood tree. They are not native to the area, so someone must have lived around here at one time.


Parry's phacelia


blue dicks


Indian warrior


There were a lot of Humboldt lily plants. They will bloom in May/June if it doesn't get too dry. The flower is like a tiger lily.


Dudleyas/liveforevers usually grow on bare rocks, not in the grass - at least around here. This is a chalk dudleya.


lance-leafed liveforever

Wonderful pictures Kelli, missed this thread and just now found it!
I am wanting to take a drive down south to see what's in bloom in the desert before we move into our new house the last week of March, I have to find a few websites on how the bloom season is going and where it is the best right now.

I assume you have found the Theodore Payne Foundation web site. That's what I use when I am thinking of going some place out of town. If you go to the Antelope Valley CA Poppy Reserve (probably too early for that just yet), let me recommend that you go on a week day. It is plenty busy on week days, so I can imagine that weekend are a total zoo. I have never gone to Figueroa Mountain, but I've heard that that should be done a on week day, also.

Theodore Payne had a nice report. Still not sure if we'll go, trying to shift some appointments around. Since we are retired, we love going places on weekdays!

I usually go in the Santa Monica Mountains since it is local. I can't say that any one section or park is better than another. There were no fires last fall, otherwise I'd direct you to those sites. We don't get large expanses of wildflowers like in drier places, but there are a good many different species. Mid April to Mid May are the most floriferous time here. For someone who wants to sample the Santa Monica Mountains in general, I'd recommend Malibu Creek State Park. The scenery is great and varied, they have restrooms and water, they have the M*A*S*H site, and most of the trails are not terribly strenuous.