Hillside observations
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California peony |
Sacapellote |
Chaparral currant |
Our house |
Plummer's mariposa lily |
Douglas's nightshade |
Click a thumbnail to see a larger image. Reload page for a different selection. Or click here to see a panel of all images.
This hillside survey concluded in September 2019. It gathered weekly data for over 6.5 years!
For any particular week, select from the tables at the bottom of this page.
Our house in Pasadena is situated in a canyon surrounded by arms of the San Rafael Hills. The hillsides are covered by vegetation typical of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains to the north, with many plants similar to those in the mountain chaparral. These hills provide a generous showing of wildflowers during the spring and early summer months. This page contains the results of a wildflower survey by Graham during the annual flowering season beginning in January 2013, based on a weekly walk on the hillside. (Click the thumbnail at the left to see a summary through September 2013.)
The weekly walk is not always on the same day of the week. Originally it was mainly on a Saturday of Sunday. Later it was mostly on Monday. Occasionally it would be Tuesday or Wednesday. For this reason, the survey week is defined as beginning on Thursday. The nominal plan for each walk was to explore the hillsides to the immediate north and west of our house.
For a summary spreadsheet of week-by-week observations up to the latest date, click on the following links:
2013: .xls or .pdf
2014: .xls or .pdf
2015: .xls or .pdf
2016: .xls or .pdf
2017: .xlS or .pdf
2018: .xls or .pdf
2019: .xls or .pdf
Click here for a panel of photographs that summarizes the native wildflowers observed.
The tables below show the dates of the weekly walks, along with links to notes and photographs from each walk. Click the thumbnail at the right to see a chart of the number of native species flowering each week.
Week-by-week observations: Click on the date to see a report for that date, and in most cases photographs. The table for earlier years is lower down on this page.