Spring an a Northern California Garden

I've taken these images over the last few weeks.  I had never appreciated the succession of bloom until moving to northern California.  It is like a symphony, as the weeks go by different flowers come into bloom as others fade away.

The daffodils were first but I neglected to get an image of them.  Next came the red tulips and then these beauties in shades of yellow and orange.

The dutch Iris added there music,

Color and a heady fragrance came with the wisteria.

The dogwood didn't bloom well this year.  Perhaps it was the  drought.  Some years it has so many blossoms it positively glows in the moonlight.

All of these are done now and I must wait for next year to see them again.

Now it is time for the poppies and in the shade there are white and pink azaleas.

The last of the Dutch iris grow with the clematis.  Roses bloom now as well and some of my tall bearded iris.  Later will be the lilies.  The fruit trees and blueberries which bloomed earlier now have fruit-lets promising new delights as the blooms of the garden fade.

This is my world in the Spring.  Find more views of the world here at Our World, Tuesday.

My Wet World

After a few early storms last fall, California has seen little rain.  A chart of the water content in the Sierra snow pack has been very like that of the exceptional drought of 1976-77.

Things are looking up, though.

A week of rain, over three inches in my yard, and several feet of snow in the Sierra.

 

It is far less than what we need but with more in the forecast we have hope.

California has some of the nations most productive farmland.  On the back roads of California's central valley one sees mile after mile of orchards, vineyards, corn, rice, tomatoes and cotton.  Farmers have been wondering just how much their water allotment will be cut,  will they have enough water to grow a crop?  This is not dry-land farming, with no summer rains California depends on the Sierra snow pack for water.

For those of us not in agriculture, our big worry is the fire danger brought on by drought.

So we listen avidly to the weather forecast and watch the sky, hoping for at least six more inches of precipitation.

That's the news from my part of our world, to see other views, go to That's Our World, Tuesday, hosted for us by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.

More Flowers Along My Way

The Flowers in bloom change as elevation changes and the season progresses.

Platanthera leucostachys

Two months ago the bog orchid was blooming near Mono Lake, at around 6500 feet.

Last week I found this example in a marshy area at 10,000 feet.

It is a tiny flower, each bloom less than 1/2 inch 

 with many on a stalk about a foot high.

Pedicularis Attollens

Smaller still are the flowers of another bog plant, little elephant's head.

Elephant's head is a larger but similar plant whose elephant shape is easy to see with the eye, this little flower needs the macro lens to appreciate the shape.

Dodecatheon alpinum

Yet another plant of the alpine bog is the aptly named "Shooting star".

My timing was off to get a picture, I was only able to find one example when I went out with my macro lens.

Lilium parvum

Yet another wetland flower blooming last week was the "Sierra Tiger Lily".

Though Calflora says it grows between 4000' and 8000' I found it at 10,000'.

Symphyotrichum spathulatum

 Other flowers, like this mountain aster, bloomed on the dryer slopes.  This semi-double bloom was a particularly attractive specimen.

Aquilegia formosa

Columbine is not fussy, it can be found in wet or dry areas.

Calochortus leichtlinii

The "Mariposa Lily" seems well adapted to dry slopes for that is where I usually find it.

These are a few of the flowers I saw last week in my world.  Find other views of our wonderful world at
Our World Tuesday