Hillside walk, 17 December 2018
The new season has begun! This week we have the first blooms of chaparral currant (Ribes malvaceum) in Canyon 5, and the first flowers of four-o'clock (Mirabilis laevis var. crassifloia), the latter blooms being on just one plant in upper Canyon 3B.
The buds on California sagebrush (Artemisia californica) have been building for many weeks, and just one or two plants have had flowers over recent weeks. Today, however, these plants are blooming everywhere on the hillsides. It's one of the most common shrubs on the hillside and the flowers are so small, anything but spectacular, but they are beautifully structured when seen close-up.
