Wildflower of the Week: Cardamine californica

January 13, 2012

Cardamine californica on Blue Rock Ridge.

Cardamine californica, otherwise known as toothwort, milkmaids, or bittercress (which is what “cardamine” means), is a beautiful early season wildflower that has been quite prominent in our area so far this year. Read the rest of this entry »


March Wildflowers: Garzas Creek & Vásquez Knob

March 7, 2015

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The Carmel River’s last major tributary, Garzas Creek, flows through Garland Regional Park.

Here’s some of what’s currently blooming along the creek and on the trail to the top of Vásquez Knob… Read the rest of this entry »


East Garland Wildflowers

April 30, 2011

Here’s a little of what we saw today …

Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) Read the rest of this entry »


Garland After the Rain

March 27, 2011


The Mesa at Garland Regional Park

Hard to remember the last day without rain. With the sun finally shining, we take a look at what’s up at Garland.
Read the rest of this entry »


Blue Rock Ridge Wildflowers

April 26, 2010

Blue Rock Ridge starts in Cachagua near the Los Padres Dam, quickly enters the Ventana Wilderness, and rises all the way to the Big Pines area at the headwaters of Danish Creek. But it’s not a smooth ascent. There’s a lot of up and down along the way. The “Big Box” fireline, created during the Marble Cone Fire and reopened twice since, runs along the top. It’s a great place for ticks, poison oak and, outside of the dozer scar, for wildflowers. Read the rest of this entry »


Garland Park Wildflowers

April 18, 2009

Here’s a little of what we saw today ….

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Sky Lupine (Lupinus nanus) and Coast Goldfields (Lasthenia californica) share a meadow. Read the rest of this entry »


Pinnacles Wildflowers

April 5, 2009

The sun is out and the flowers are blooming at Pinnacles National Monument.

Here’s a little of what we saw today …

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This is a field of Tufted Poppies (Eschscholzia caespitosa).

(For a closer look, click on a picture to bring up a higher resolution image, then use your browser to zoom in) Read the rest of this entry »


A Saturday on Rattlesnake Creek

January 28, 2012

A Saturday with no obligations! I head off to the Ventana Wilderness with no particular destination in mind …

The parking lot for the trailhead at Los Padres Dam is gated for some reason these days, so it’s necessary to park down the hill at the Forest Service Station. Read the rest of this entry »