Desert spring

[chestnut_pod]

The last big burst of blossom in the chaparral!

image layout: visualosities in two floating columns by vigils

Left column top-to-bottom: garland daisy, Perez's sea lavender, rare blue scarlet pimpernel!!, Cleveland's shooting star.

Right column top-to-bottom: unusually wine-colored red bush monkeyflower, beach suncup, everyone's favorite blue dicks, and some opuntia species [probably chaparral but maybe coastal].)

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

Very nice!

[chestnut_pod]

Spring is sprung!

[shirebound]

These brave dry-land blooms bring back wonderful memories of the 40 years I lived in San Diego, CA and camping in the amazing Anza Borrego Desert.

[chestnut_pod]

I was just driving through farther east, and the ocotillo is blooming too!

[shirebound]

*beams*

[kaishin108]

Gorgeous!

[chestnut_pod]

Spring makes it all worth it!

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

These are so beautiful, and so different from what grows here in central Illinois. :D

Re: Wow!

[chestnut_pod]

I would love to see some of your flowers too!

Re: Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

You're in luck! :D I just finished posting today's pictures. I had to split them into three batches. Refresh the community page and you should see those posts. Several new things are blooming here.

Re: Wow!

[chestnut_pod]

Wonderful!

[leecetheartist]

That shooting star is very pretty!

[chestnut_pod]

They are my absolute favorites! So elegant, so spaceship-like!

[ranunculus]

We have the broad leafed Shooting Star up here in Northern California. It is much more burgandy red than your shooting stars. I love both.

[chestnut_pod]

Even though they're my favorites, I am terrible at telling the different species apart. I can basically determine clevelandii/not-clevandii, and that's it! But it doesn't matter, because they are all gorgeous and I love them.

[ranunculus]

I"m very much right there with you. I just know what the color difference is, and then, if I look it up, geographical. Mostly I just look at them and enjoy.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I only recognized about half the things in this post. I know more of the things that grow in my area. If I can pin them down, I link to the exact plant; if not, I link to a more general page. I have found this site very helpful:

https://illinoiswildflowers.info/

Many other states have a similar database, either run by the state or a university.

Re: Well ...

[ranunculus]

I recognize most of these flowers as being part of the Chaparral plant community, that grows in the dry and very poor soils of the American West. I think our area of Northern California Coast Ranges is not quite, but close to the northern edge of this plant community in California Coast Ranges. I don't think you have any part of this plant communitity in Ill. No shame in not recognizing plants from another world!

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I recognize a few of them from having visited that area, others from reading widely, and prickly pear as a favorite food. :D

I think the only one we have in common is shooting star, but likely a different species.

I can't think of any characters who live in chaparral territory, and that's another main way that I learn about what grows in far-flung places, researching for my writing.

This community is awesome because it has members posting from all around the world. \o/

[adafrog]

Pretty. Thanks.

[chestnut_pod]

My pleasure!

[scintilla10]

These are beautiful! So many colours!

[chestnut_pod]

I was so excited to find that blue pimpernel -- I don't see many true-blues!

[cmcmck]

So many pretties! :o)