California wildflowers

We are at the tail end of wild flower season, on Mount Figueroa, in Los Padres National Forest. Figueroa mountain road is a beautiful drive and when the flowers are in bloom it  is quite spectacular. The wildflowers on Figueroa Mountain are off to a very unusual start this year, largely due to the lack of rain and unusual weather. It is no surprise the flowers are exhibiting a bit of confusion; flowers that normally do not bloom until mid April, early May, bloomed in January this year and are now drying out. It may be a short and rapid flower season this year; but it would still be worth the drive because the area is beautiful and has abundant hiking trails. The dismal wild flower forecast doesn't mean there won't be anything to see. Flowers and shrubs are in bloom, just not in that drive-by-fields-of-color kind of way. This season you will have  to leave your car and spend some time looking around on foot to appreciate nature's beauty. Pack a picnic lunch with your favorite bottle of vino and enjoy the beautiful views of the valley. 

All photo art can be purchased at Kimberly Kay Photography. ENJOY!

There are a large variety of flowers that usually grace the hillsides so you may want to bring along a field book of the California wildflowers. Flowers that you might see would include; buttercups, fiddlenecks, Johnny jump-ups, blue dicks, chinese houses, hummingbird sage, fiesta flowers, lomatium, miner’s lettuce, lupine, pink owl’s clovers, red Indian paintbrush, shooting stars, miniature lupine, sky lupine, cream cups, fillaree, buttercups, goldfields, coreopsis, shooting stars, royal lupine, beautiful pink, orange wall flowers, fiesta flowers, coreopsis, purple nightshade, prickly phlox, spiny lupine, morning glories, coreopsis, milk thistle, flowering gooseberries, chocolate lily's and of course California poppies! 

Don't forget your adventure pass before you go and make sure to pack your camera!

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