Seven years ago I had the unique opportunity to do some aerial photography over the Carrizo Plains National Monument, and always wondered what it would have been like to see it from the ground. Well, this year the plains and Temblor Range finally experienced a similarly profuse wildflower bloom. I made two trips out there to wander Monet’s painting palette, and was not disappointed. Unfortunately, I think I might be flower-jaded for a few years!
Click any image for a larger pop-up view.
Aside from the flowers, and their insane density, I was struck (again) by how the flowers largely seem to be grouped together in patches of monocultures. This is most evident in the long distance views – I tried to find the rare mixtures of species for more colorful foregrounds for my wide angle images. Why do they form these patches? It likely has a lot to do with slope angle, amount of sunshine, drainage, soil, etc. Still, it seems to me like many of the patches inhabit remarkably similar slopes. Perhaps there is something more interesting going on.
Given the huge swaths of flowers, I would have expected similarly dense swarms of insects. But, I hardly saw any. A few bumblebees, and lots of crane flies, but not much more. Where are the pollinators? Maybe by not being plugged into facebook, twitter, and the media, they haven’t heard about the “superbloom”? (that’s a joke)
While the carpets of flowers were astonishingly beautiful, I was most struck with the strangeness of the desert candles (Caulanthus inflatus). These bizarre flowers are actually members of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae). They seem a little less out of place when considering that this family also includes the mustards, which also have long stems topped with florets. As their latin name implies, the desert candles are essentially mustards with inflated stems, with a consistency like the floating air sacks of kelp that wash up on shore.
While this bloom is mostly over by now, you can probably still find some flowers here and there. Next up will be the Sequoia and Redwood forests, followed by what will almost certainly be a spectacular (and mosquito laden) alpine summer.
Tags: carrizo plains, carrizo plains national monument, flowers, foothills, open spaces, spring, superbloom, superbloom 2017
Floris, Simply awesome images of the super bloom at Carrizo Plains. Thanks for sharing. I was in California last week and had the opportunity to visit that location. The hillside daisies were still blooming but most of the purple and orange flowers had disappeared. I found a nice location (no cars or hikers and no dust) to shoot a time-lapse sequence of the end of day and the full moon coming up over the Temblor Range. Finally, a moonlit journey up up and over the Hurricane Ridge road to Bakersfield. Best regards, Jim Ruff
Great shots Floris. Long time follower here and love your blog and photography.
Truly incredible shots Floris. Some of the best Carrizo Plain shots I’ve seen.
Floris, I am especially impressed by the image “Rolling in Flowers” – the intersecting shapes together with the complementing colors leading into the depth are fascinating to me. Great piece of art in my opinion!
Peter