Brokeoff Mountain Wildflowers 🎕 Lassen Volcanic National Park

Late-July
Brokeoff Mountain hiking trail

Ragwort

Lupine

Some type of Aster?

For every three flowers I manage to identify, there's always one that eludes me!

Blue Wildflowers 🎕 Lassen Volcanic National Park

I've found blue wildflowers growing all over Lassen during the summertime, but I'm not sure if they're stickseed or forget-me-nots...

Lassen VNP ~ Mt. Harkness trail ~ early-July

Lassen VNP ~ Manzanita Creek trail ~ mid-July

Lassen VNP ~ late-June

Ridge Lakes Yellow Wildflowers 🎕 Lassen Volcanic National Park 🎕 Northern California

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A few of the yellow wildflowers found on the trail in Early August...

Mule's Ear

Ragwort

Common Monkeyflower

Western Wallflower

Tall Groundsel

Read all about our hike to Ridge Lakes here.

Purple Wildflowers ❦ Lassen Volcanic National Park

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Finding the perfect photo for my Valentine's Day post was easy!

Here are some Pacific Bleeding Heart flowers we saw on the Brokeoff Mountain hiking trail in late-August...

Paradise Meadow Trail ~ Lassen Volcanic National Park Wildflowers

There were plenty of wildflowers to be found on the Paradise Meadow trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park in July!

Alpine Speedwell

California Valerian (and Crab Spider)

Lupine

Looking forward to doing some more hiking in the park this summer...

Snow Plant 🎕 Merry Christmas!

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Would you look at that! It's Christmas Day and Wildflower Wednesday all in one!

In celebration of the holidays, here's some beautifully unique Snow Plant from Lassen Volcanic National Park...

See you in 2020 for some more wildflower fun!

Aster 🎕 Lassen Volcanic National Park 🎕 Purple Wildflowers

There are several types of Aster growing in Lassen Volcanic National Park, including Alpine, California and Western Aster.

I'm finding it just about impossible to tell apart and identify, but here are a few of the Asters we've found in the park...

Manzanita Creek Trail ~ Mid-July

Kings Creek Falls Trail ~ Lake-August

Brokeoff Mountain Trail ~ Late-August

Ridge Lakes Trail Wildflowers ☼ Lassen Volcanic National Park

Our first hike to Ridge Lakes in Lassen Volcanic National Park was in October of last year and we didn't see a single wildflower. Then, in early August of this year, we re-hiked the trail and WOW there were wildflowers everywhere!

It's amazing how much landscape can change throughout the seasons. As much as I'd love to see flowers blooming all year long, that small window of time when they come out to say hello and cheer up our day is all the more special...

Read all about our hike to Ridge Lakes HERE.

Blue Wildflowers 🎕 Northern California

Whenever I see a blue wildflower, I have to admit I get a little bit giddy and a whole lot happy! Here are a few of my favorites...

This Chicory (Cichorium intybus) looks purple next to the other flowers in this post, but I swear it's blue when you see it with your own two eyes out in nature! I've been lucky to spot Chicory on the way to Lassen VNP and at the Sutter NWR.

These next two flowers are Stickseed, but I've had a heck of a time trying to determine which kind. They can be found in Lassen VNP in early July and look a lot like Forget-me-nots! Gosh, they're a pretty sight when you're hiking down (or up!) a trail.

I think I'm saving the best for last with Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii). This photo is from Ten Mile Beach in Fort Bragg, CA and I can't wait to go back again in early-May to see them again!

Well, unfortunately there aren't a lot of blue wildflowers. Or at least I haven't come across that many yet anyway. I think that's what makes them that much more beautiful and fun to photograph.

What color flower makes you excited to pull over and snap some photos? If you're anything like me, it doesn't really matter. I brake for all wildflowers!

Orange Wildflowers 🎕 Northern California

It's time to celebrate some of the beautiful orange wildflowers I've spotted growing around northern California!

First off, is the Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum) growing in Lassen VNP. We spotted this particular flower along the side of the road through the park in Mid-June, but we also saw several when we hiked to Ridge Lakes in early-August, too.

The next orange wildflower should get an award for most adorableness and greatest name. I present to you the Menzies' Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii) we saw on the Logan Creek trail of the Sacramento NWR in late-March. I told you it was cute!

This Sulphur-flower Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum) is technically considered a yellow flower, but this one looks pretty orange to me and I'm including it because of its incredible location. We spotted this one on the trail up Brokeoff Mountain. (Lassen VNP, Late-August)

And finally, I don't think I could consider myself a true Californian if I didn't include Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) in today's post. No, these aren't from the super-bloom in Southern California, they're a humble little cluster growing at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in late-April.

What is your state flower? Do you love it or do you wish it was something else? (🤣 Bonus points if I just made you look up your state flower!!!)

Lupine 🎕 Lassen Volcanic National Park

Not only are Lupine leaves beautiful, the flowers themselves are quite exquisite. 

There are several different varieties in Lassen Volcanic National Park, but identifying each individual one can be a tedious, time-consuming and frustrating task. So, for the sake of my sanity, I'm posting a few today under the umbrella name of simply "Lupine" and we're just gonna leave it at that. Hey, maybe these are all the same species and I've been trying to narrow them down for no reason!

Shadow Lake ~ Early-September

Juniper Lake ~ Early-July

Brokeoff Mountain Trail ~ Late-August

Manzanita Creek Trail ~ Mid-July

Ridge Lakes ~ Early-August

In time, I'm sure I'll figure out how to easily differentiate between specific species, but for now I'll just enjoy their beauty and learn as I go. I learned bird species, didn't I? (Refer to my birding blog Wings and Daydreams.) At first, I'm sure I thought everything was a sparrow and then I learned to tell the difference. Time, I just need time.

Have you recently discovered how difficult it can be to identify certain wildflowers? Even the apps and websites I've found to be useful don't always narrow them down all the way, or even correctly.

Dammit, Jim! I'm a writer, not a botanist!

Heck, I just learned that I've been saying the word "lupine" incorrectly my whole life. Raise your hand if you pronounce it loo-pin instead of loo-pine and I've got a shiny gold star for ya...