Wildflower Season 2023
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:
Looking back at Spring
Spring is my favorite season here in central Washington. Our winters, while short and relatively mild in terms of snowfall and temperatures, can be quite dreary. Temperature inversions, freezing fog, and bad air quality are a staple of our weather forecasts from November to February. Summers can be brutally hot: the third digit on my home weather station spends quite a bit of time illuminated from June through August. While conditions in the Cascades are more tolerable, here in the arid sagebrush-steppe of the Yakima Valley, shade trees are found only along rivers and in watered urban backyards.
Spring holds the perfect balance: the days get progressively longer, conditions are perfect for outdoor exploring, and, as an added bonus, foothills of the Cascades come alive with wildflowers (one of my favorite photographic subjects the past few years.) Fall has its merits as well, but the with the onset of winter occupying the back of ones mind, the urge to get outside before the snow starts falling can feel almost stressful compared to the relaxed bliss of spring.
Here are some of my favorite photos from this past spring, from March’s vernal equinox up through June’s summer solstice:
More Spring Wildflowers (this time with spines!)
A clump of hedgehog cacti (Pediocactus nigrispinus) blooming in the deserts of central Washington
One of our favorite times of year when living in southern Utah was late spring, when the desert would come alive with a wide variety of vibrantly colored cactus blossoms (which were soon followed by delicious fruits that made superb sauces, beer, and margaritas!) Central Washington is a bit lacking in the cacti-department, but we do actually have a few species that can put on a springtime show if you know where to look.
The most widespread species is the Columbia Prickly Pear (Opuntia columbiana), however I’ve yet to see any flowers. I am beginning to suspect that this species blooms only in certain years with the proper moisture conditions, though I haven’t been able to confirm this.
Another species, a variety of hedgehog cactus (Pediocactus nigrispinus), is harder to find, but quite reminiscent of the stout barrel cacti of Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. Once more common in central Washington, Pediocactus nigrispinus has sadly been the target of illegal collecting and poaching, reducing its numbers to the point that it is now a threatened species here in Washington. We’ve run across patches of this cactus on two recent hikes, and the second time we were delighted to find many of the buds in bloom. This little cactus, robust but generally no more than a few inches high, has electric-pink flowers that really stand out, even when surrounded by tons of other spring flowers on the sagebrush steppe.
A hedgehog cactus (Pediocactus nigrispinus) blooming in the deserts of central Washington
And for good measure, a few other flowers from recent excursions:
Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sp.) flowers in the Yakima River Canyon of central Washington.
Low-growing lupine (Lupinus sp.) in the Yakima River Canyon of central Washington.
Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sp.) flowers at Steamboat Rock State Park in central Washington.
Tips on identifying specific balsamroot or lupine species are welcome! There seem to be dozens of different varieties out here, but I sure as heck can’t tell them apart…
Zach Schierl Photography 