Purple and White Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Purple and white wildflowers photographed in a shady valley at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.
I’m terrible at identifying most wildflowers, though a helpful friend tells me that these are Collinsia heterophylla, or Chinese houses. (Thanks, Gena!)
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Inge, this little park really contains a quite surprising number of wildflowers. Because it includes everything from steep, shaded creek to wide open oak grassland, you can find flowers there for many months of the year. I often see the very first ones as early as January, and there are still some great flowers that thrive in drier conditions.
This particular little area where I shot most of these is quite accessible. From the Mockingbird Hill entrance you head up the hill to the New Almaden trail which skirts along the hills more or less to the northwest. After the initial climb from the parking lot this trail descends to cross several small creek drainages, and in this area you can find truly stunning flowers in the spring.
Dan
Another wonderful image. I did not realize that there are so many different species of wild flowers in this park. The image is simple, but outstanding.
Inge