What’s Still Blooming in SoCal 2012? Part I

The big question is did the late rain rains bring any flowers to spring 2012? Yes it did, not much but still enough for photography. These whipple yucca (aka God’s Candles) are putting on a show through out the washes and a little here and there on dry hillsides. All blooming yucca shown were photographed this morning along Piru Creek, right off highway 126. Will they still be around by the weekend? Yes they will, they haven’t peaked so they will be around for the weekend. What is blooming in the same location? There are a few bush like trees full of pink flowers in the same wash so keep an eye out for them. I’ll be posting a few more late spring finds this week to wrap up spring 2012 so stay tuned!!

These whipple yucca can grow to nearly 20 feet tall.

Giant blooming whipple yucca in the Santa Clara River Valley, Southern California. Unfortunately these only bloom once and die shortly afterwards. Their last hoorah is a spectacle no doubt!

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Eastern Sierra Wildflowers

Photo courtesy ©Mike Bohlander

California’s wildflower season just keeps getting better and better. Some of the burn areas in Eastern Sierra are carpeted in gold flowers and you can see poppies, lupine and other wildflowers at the base of the Sierra.

Mike’s “Wispy Sierra Sunset” shot was taken over the past weekend. I had driven past the scene in the middle of the day a week prior (see photo below)

You can see Mike’s photo here on Flickr.

Directions – After you pass the small town of Independence heading north turn left on Black Rock Springs rd until you get to old 395. You can see it all there. The fiddlenecks are abundant along 395 and should be beginning to bloom very soon if not yet!

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Joshua Tree’s Cacti Bloom

For a short period of time the harsh extremes of the desert do not and exist and life florishes. If you drive into Joshua Tree’s south entrance you can’t miss the painterly scene along interstate 10. A painter must have painted the desert yellow, the brittle brush line both sides of the highways at points. At a 65 mile per hour glance I could make out beavertails blooming along with ocotillos and some arizona lupine here and there.
You can see all the brittle brush here in the background behind me here . I just met Jon Cornforth the current Outdoor Photography Magazine cover shot photographer earlier this week. Pretty hospitable guy, he was nice enough to share his I-phone shot. Hopefully I can meet up with him again after I get back from Northwestern Nevada. The photo shown was taken just outside the park’s south entrance.

Here are a few of the blooming cacti and yucca from the past couple of visits to Joshua Tree. They are all blooming now so it would a great time to stop by, especially if you’re conveniently located on the east side of Los Angeles. If you happen to smell a skunk while you’re out there it might just possibly be the breeze and the smell of an abundance of wildflowers.

I found these in both the Mojave and Sonoran sections of the park.

I found these mojave mounds at the foot of boulder piles in the main northern section of the park.

The joshua trees are in full bloom right now. This one is just at it’s beginning stage but you’ll find many in full bloom.

The beavertail cacti can grow to the size of a large ice chest with mutliple flowers on them.

The mojave yucca, whew! In my own opinion these can be some of the most beautiful yucca blooms around.

This should give a photographer plenty to capture in Joshua Tree besides just boulders and joshua trees. If you still need more just remember the park is made of mountains, washes, tanks and palm oasis. Get creative and come up with something you didn’t think you would leave with.