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| Tiger swallow tail butterfly enjoying the blooming flowers |
I have been admiring the vast array of wildflowers that have been springing up all over our property at the
Twenty Mile House recently, attracting countless butterflies and keeping the bees happy. As I started to look closer I realized amongst the fields and hills of bachelor buttons and lupins - which look spectacular - I began noticing dotted around many other wildflowers starting to bloom. I grabbed my camera and started taking photos thinking it would be nice to share what we are sighting here with wildflower enthusiasts. As I started to notice more and more species of wildflowers - some a little shy and hidden away and others seeming to shout "here I am" I found myself on somewhat of a wildflower treasure hunt with my 3-year old daughter scouring every corner of the property, along the train tracks and nearby roadsides and even our local little cemetery which probably held the biggest surprise - to see how many different flowers we could find. I have identified as many as I can but there are still a number I am not certain about. If anyone is able to put names to some of the wildflowers I would love to hear from you! For more information on where to go to see wildflowers in Plumas County and what is on show visit the Plumas County Visitor's Bureau
2011 Bloom's blog for up-to-date sightings.
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| Bachelor button |
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| Sweet peas |
On our direct property around our grounds it is teeming with bachelor buttons, lupins, sweet peas and daisies, providing a spectacular backdrop of purples and whites. My daughter was very excited when she found a solo pink bachelor button amongst all the purples and whites - it was the only one we found.
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| The lone pink bachelor button |
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| Lupin |
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| Salsify |
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| Crimson columbine |
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| A bee enjoying morning glory |
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| Daisy |
Hiding in some of the more shady areas of our gardens we found the very pretty crimson columbine, morning glory and salsify.
As we ventured along the hot rocky areas along the train-tracks we came across poppies, boundless bachelor buttons, daisies and wild clover and a couple of unidentified flowers.
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| Poppy |
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| Unknown flower |
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| Wild clover |
Noticing our excitement, Kevin joined in on the hunt for wildflowers and best photo. I think he gets the honors for his great shots of the Western tiger swallowtail butterfly feasting on an unidentified flower.
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| Western tiger swallowtail butterfly |
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| Western tiger swallowtail butterfly |
Next it was off along the Old Cromberg Road to see what we had noticed on our drives in and out of the Twenty Mile House. We weren't disappointed. My daughter was enthralled watching two large bumble bees busily enjoying the mules ears.
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| Bumble bee in mules ear |
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| Pair of bumble bees enjoying the mules ear |
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| Yarrow |
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| Monkey flower |
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| Unknown flower |
Other flowers we spotted along the side of the road were the monkey flower, yarrow, and a number of flowers I haven't yet identified.
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| Unknown flower |
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| Showy milkweed |
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| Wild hyancinth |
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| Washington lily |
It was then time to head off to the local Quincy Farmers Market to enjoy great local fair and music. On our way back we decided to turn off and take the Sloat Road back to the Twenty Mile House to see what we could find there. We were not disappointed. Growing on the steeper rocky slopes we sighted the showy milkweed, wild hyancinth and yarrow. Our very final destination of the day as twilight set was to take a quick walk through the Cromberg cemetery as we had noticed an array of large flowers growing there as we had driven by.
We were not to be disappointed - the cemetery is abound with regal Washington lilys and paintbrush providing a spectacular display or white and reds. What a great way to end the day!
Hope you get to enjoy the beautiful wildflowers of Plumas County.
Happy wildflower hunting,
Karen Steele
Twenty Mile House
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Paintbrush
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