In recent years, the onset of wildflower season has been the catalyst for reviving my photography habit (and thus, this blog) from the dead each spring. That has certainly been true again this year (though my recent purchase of a new telephoto lens may have also played a role…) as the hills of central Washington have been awash in green grass and a riot of colorful flowers for much of the past month. The show is fantastic, but fleeting. Today on my drive home from work, I noticed that the hillsides have already taken a turn toward the brown as temperatures warm and the early season grasses begin to die back. Fortunately, by heading up into the mountains, one can follow the flowers all the way into July and August in the higher elevations of the Cascades.
Here are some of my favorite photos from the past month:
Arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), Snow Mountain Ranch, Yakima, WA
Grass widows (Olsynium douglasii), Cowiche Canyon, WA
Poet’s shooting star (Primula poetica), Klickitat River, WA
Showy phlox (Phlox speciosa), Snow Mountain Ranch, Yakima, WA
Spring wildflowers bloom at Columbia Hills State Park, WA, with Mt. Hood in the distance.
Yellow fritillary (Fritillaria pudica) and bluebells (Mertensia sp.), Snow Mountain Ranch, Yakima, WA
Lupine (Lupinus sp.) bouquet at Columbia Hills State Park, WA
Wildflowers coat the hillside at Snow Mountain Ranch near Yakima, WA
Lupine (Lupnius sp.) and large-flower triteleia (Triteleia grandiflora), Columbia River Gorge, WA
One of my favorite wildflowers, the elusive chocolate lily (Fritillaria affinis), Columbia River Gorge, WA
Wildflowers line the trail at Columbia Hills State Park, WA
Hikers traverse slopes covered in arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), Snow Mountain Ranch, Yakima, WA
Wildflower covered slopes, Columbia Hills State Park, WA
Upland larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum), Klickitat River, WA
Grass widows (Olsynium douglasii), Cowiche Canyon, WA
Zach Schierl Photography 
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