The Flowers of Spring & Summer!

Yesterday I posted pictures of Wild Lilacs, and while I was looking for different shots, I looked down and found this tiny cluster of flowers growing very low to the ground! I have no idea what they are, even though I looked online for a very long time without success. They remind me of Poison Oak blossoms but the plant is completely different in every way. Any help would be appreciated, but I have a feeling that this is a fairly unknown flower.

(Please scroll down for 3 more pictures!) Another delightful surprise for me! I found this lovely flower growing up along our ridgeline, but it's not the first time I've seen this one before. Last year, Steve and I went on a hike with a group here in southern Oregon and I noticed it along the trail . I remember at the time having a hard time getting focus because of the light, and in the end, I wasn't really happy with my picture. So when I found it here on our property, I was thrilled at the chance to do a better job! I took a bunch of pictures and picked my favorite four to share. There are more than 10,000 recorded species of Hawkweed flowers, but thisis the only white one! Many species of Hawkweed has been introduced to the United States and are considered invasive weeds, but this tiny, delicate flower is native tto the Pacific Northwest and can be found from Alaska and British Columbia to Mexico and east to Colorado. The name Hawkweed comes from folklore that said hawks ate these flowers to improve their eyesight. This flower is a favorite food for many insects including moths and butterflies. If you would like to know more about this flower, I found a nice page here: Native Plant Society: White Hawkweed Wiki has three sources: Wiki: White Hawkweed: (Hieracium albiflorum) Wiki: Hieracium Wiki: Hawkweed

(Please scroll down to see two more pictures!) Oh look! It's another Hawkweed! :D Yesterday I posted a picture of the Pacific Northwest native White Hawkweed , but today I'm posting the third yellow Hawkweed species I've found on our property! There are over 10,000 species listed to date! One of the reasons there are so many is because this plant hybridizes easily between species and this new mix is considered to be a new species! It's notoriously difficult to identify many species from one another. On top of that, they have different numbers of petals, even within the same species, and that can be seen here in these flowers as well. If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has two sources: Wiki: Hieracium Wiki: Hawkweed NOTE: I'm definitely NOT an expert so I could easily be wrong about the identification of this flower!! It's really hard to know and I haven't found any flower that looks like this but a hawkweed! Please let me know if you have a better idea of what flower this might be.

(Please scroll down to see two more pictures! :D) A few days ago, I posted pictures of White Hairy Owl's Clover , which was the 123rd Flower in my count. Today's flower is actually the same species, but it's yellow! Apparently this flower comes in both white and yellow, but I'm calling it a different species because this flower has a slightly different appearance, it grows in a different place and instead of standing at about 4-6" tall, this flower is about 8-10" tall. (This species is known to grow as tall as 16" but neither flower on my property is that tall.). It's found in the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to California and as far east as Nevada and Idaho. If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a small source here: Wiki: Owl's Clover (Castilleja tenuis)

I've said this before, but I have to say once again: it's just amazing how beautiful many "ugly" flowers look if you get a close look at them! Standing over this flower, it's boring and looks like nothing at all. But I was so surprised how beautiful this flower is when seen through a macro lens! I love flowers that appear to have tiny flowers blooming in the very center...I call them "flowers within flowrs"! :D This Spikeweed has gorgeous little yellow stars inside and I absolutely love them! On top of that, their spiky outer leaves form yet another star. They really are very special little flowers! Did I mention that Spikeweed stinks?! :D Yes, this is another STINKWEED! :D Happily, this sticky, resin-coated member of the tarweed family has more of a lemon scent, but too much rubbed onto one's clothes does smell way too much. Although it's related to other tarweed flowers that grow on our property, Fitch's Spikeweed is being moved into its own genus...maybe stinkweeds must be kept apart so they don't smell so much?! :D All kidding aside, this flower is very different in appearance than the other species and they should be in their own genus. This flower grows in California and Oregon and is considered a noxious weed. If you want to know more about this lovely flower, Wiki has a small source with a listing of species here: Wiki: Tarweed (Hemizonia)

Today I was alerted to a problem I created by posting my pictures two days ago but keeping them private until last night. I didn't realize that so many people visit their contact's pictures via the Contact steam, so I'm afraid that my pictures may be lost in the ocean of Flickr! From now on I will be sure not to upload my pictures unless I'm going to make them public right away! What a lesson! Thank you Anup , for letting me know about this!! This image is another view of a beautiful Mule's Ear blossom that I found on our hillside during the Spring. They create a dazzling golden display for about two-three weeks and then are gone, as quickly as they came! Narrowleaf Mule's Ears: are in the Aster family and are also known as California Campassplant, This perennnial herb grows on the west coast of the United States from Washington to California and can be found in meadows and open forested areas like our tree-covered hillside. Each plant can have one or more large flowers measuring about 4-5" in diameter. If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Narrowleaf Mule's Ears (Wyethia angustifolia)

2 more pictures above in notes! :) Have you ever grown anything from seeds before? It's really amazing to think that a huge plant could come from a little speck you put in some dirt and added water to! A few years ago, I got a bunch of different flower seeds for my first time and I planted them in little pots on our back deck to see if they would grow. This flower looks like one of the types I planted, so I think some seeds must have blown off the deck and found their way to this little area down by our well house. From Wiki: Phacelia linearis, with the common name Threadleaf phacelia, is a species of phacelia. It is native to western North America from western Canada to Wyoming to northern California, where it grows in forest, woodland, open scrub, and other habitat. A HUGE THANK YOU AND HUG to my ipernity Pod Sister, Pam J, who solved the mystery of this flower, which I couldn't identify!

This is the 9th kind of clover growing on our property that I've posted so far, and I'm not done yet! I'm just amazed because until I began this project, I sort of thought that there was just one kind of clover! In fact, there are over 300 species of clover! This species is native to western North America and can be found in many types of habitats. If you would like to know more about clover, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Clover (Trifolium) By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

This is another beauty I never tire of seeing on our property! To me, it looks like it's made from pink crepe paper! Purple Clarkia is fairly small in size, about 1/2"-1" in diameter. It's native to the Pacific Northwest and ranges in color including pink, purple, and deep wine red. If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a small source here: Wiki: Purple Clarkia (Clarkia purpurea)