Wildflowers are My Solace – Part 1

Mid-March – April 3, 2020

Santa Cruz Mountains and Coast

This is the first installment in my annual spring wildflower post. All photographs were taken before April 3, 2020. A silver lining to the pandemic is more opportunity to witness the gradual arrival of spring.

Spring has burst forth this year with confidence and splendor, oblivious to the human cost of the pandemic. The Santa Cruz Mountains are home to a beautiful array of wildflowers; you just have to know where and when to look. Each year I return to familiar haunts where I have found flowers before. Each year I try to find new places with new wildflowers.

The freedom of my wanderings has been undercut, at times, by park, beach and trail closures. But there are enough wild places open, even within walking distance, to keep me occupied. During the weekdays, there are more people out than there would have been prior to the pandemic. Since many people aren’t going to work and are desperate to be outdoors, they are showing up at places I used to have to myself. I stay home on weekends.

Walking into meadow and forest is an immersion into primordial beauty and a focused treasure hunt. I am hunting down wildflowers and hoping to capture exceptional photographs.

Below are photographs of some of the earliest wildflowers.
• Checkerbloom
• Giant Trillium
• Pacific Trillium
• Baby Blue Eyes
• Blue Dicks
• Flowering Currant
• Forget-me-not
• Giant Trillium
• Golden Violet
• Redwood Violet
• Lupine
• Milk Maids
• Wild Onion
• Popcorn Flower
• California Poppy
• Sea Pink
• Pacific Trillium
• Wood Sorrel