"All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today."
–Indian Proverb
6/27/16:
Just back from camping in the Sierras, so all I've done gardening-wise recently is the bare minimum: watering my droopiest-looking plants this morning before leaving for work.
It was a very picturesque trip out into the wilderness, so instead of highlights from my own garden, I'm posting wildflower images here this time. I looked them up on the internet today to identify each variety.
Clicking on the small images below will bring up a larger version.
Buckbrush Lilac (Ceanothus cuneatus).
Mountain Pride Penstemon (newberryi).
Wandering Daisy (Erigeron peregrinus).
We were in the Grouse Ridge area, east of Grass Valley and northwest of Lake Tahoe and Truckee. The landscape is mostly forest, semi-arid along the hilltops, with lots of granite. Elevation was around 5000 feet. The plants in these photos were living in full sun and rocky, pale-tan soil.
Our campsite was next to Carr Lake, and a short distance from Feeley Lake. I went swimming in both of these. The water was startlingly cold at first, but I became acclimated easily. There were grasses growing beneath the surface, with trout minnows swimming among them. It was delightfully refreshing and the scenery was lovely, so I had a hard time getting out of the lake when it was time to leave.
The surrounding forest is a variety of pine, fir, cedar, and juniper. I'm just starting to learn how to identify various conifers; we have a few around the yard at home and it would be interesting to know more about them.
Leafy Cinquefoil (Potentilla fissa).
Pussy Paws (Calyptridium umbellatum).
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos).
