Wildflower Reports 2010
Southern California

May 11, 2010 Betty reports: My sincere gratitude goes out to the person who told us about Gorman Post Road south of Gorman. I was there late in the day on May 10. I finished shooting at a pond with ducks, and there were egrets on the hill behind the pond. Poppies and lupine are the main flowers. [That saturate adjustment really makes the photos pop.] It was windy and cloudy, and I hear there is solid precipitation there today. I'm also very happy with some of the video that I took of the various "birds" on the pond. I used a Canon 40D with Tamaron 17-50 and Canon 70-300.

May 8, 2010 George reports: Went to the Poppy Reserve today. Agree with what Glen reported seeing on 5/7 and nothing at all worth taking at Gorman Post Road. I was also very windy the whole trip which made picture taking, especially close ups, difficult. Still it was a beautiful day - Taken with a Panasonic DMC-ZS3

May 7, 2010 Glen reports: These pix were all taken at the Antelope Vly Poppy Reserve 5/6/10. Nearly all of the lupin and anything yellow had pretty much gone by, but everything orange was still doing fine! However, I did see alot of seed pods forming on the poppys, so you should get out there soon. I was hoping to see some Owls Clover, but saw none. We did do some driving for several miles around the Reserve a saw lots more poppys everywhere. What a wonderful place! Photos taken with my Sony Cyber shot.

More on the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve These pictures no longer show whats there today. Click here for pictures

May 3, 2010 Jim reports: On Saturday, May 1, my wife & I went up to Gorman and found great views along Gorman Post Road. This is a 2 lane road that runs roughly parallel to I5 south of Gorman and to the east of I5. I took over 70 pictures with my Nikon D300 with AF Nikkor 18-200mm lens. Attached are samples of the colorful vistas.

May 1, 2010 Lilian reports: Gorman Hills was showing great color along Gorman Post Road last weekend(04/24), it's probably at peak now and will last for another 1-2 weeks.

Apr. 27, 2010 Nancy reports: I took this photo of the Lupin bloom on April 25th at Division Creek just north of Independence, CA in the Eastern Sierra.

Apr. 23, 2010 Dan reports: These pictures were taken on April 22nd at Crystal Cove park in Newport Beach. They were taken around 9:30 AM. The prickly pear cactus are just beginning to bloom and the cholas look like they are just about finished blooming. There are 2 different yellow flowers blooming and there are fields of them. The ones in the first picture have about half blooming and half dead but they look great at a distance. There are more flowers than I have pictured. We entered the park entrance close to Newport Coast drive on the PCH. We turned right into the parking area and walked the path to the overlook. There are lots of flowers in this short walk.

Apr. 21, 2010 Katie reports: This was taken from Avenue I just East of the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve April 17 at 9 AM (before the poppies fully opened at 10)

Apr. 20, 2010 Lien reports: Pictures I took at and around the Lancaster poppy reserve on Sunday 4/18. Thanks for the wonderful site.

Apr. 19, 2010 Betty reports: My husband Paul took this picture by the poppy reserve April 17th. There were so many poppies surrounding the reserve, we didn't even have to go inside the reserve to get this shot. Picture was taken with a Canon EOS 30Dv

Apr. 19, 2010 Brain reports: Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve Vicinity Saturday April 17th. Nikon D200

Apr. 17, 2010 Nancy reports: I took these photos on April 15th and 16th north of Independence, California in the Eastern Sierra Mojave desert with a Canon Powershot SD1200 digital.

Apr. 17, 2010 John reports: Figueroa Mountain - North of Santa Barbara Yesterday I went to the top of Figueroa Mountain. If you google for it, that's basically where you have to go. Once you hit the dirt road and there is a split, go on the dirt path to the left. It is approx 2.5 miles to the top, and a little bad in some spots, but my family car made it up there. But before you go to the lookout, there's another fork; go left and down about 300' there's this meadow to the south (left). That's where all the good stuff is. This is the largest concentration of lupine & poppies anywhere around this area.

Apr. 15, 2010 Morgan reports: I noticed a nice patch of purple sage next to a slope restoration site on Jalama road. Photos taken with a Nikon Coolpix 4600 4 mpx on Thursday afternoon on April 15, 2010. Jalama Road is the 14 mile windy road that meanders past checkered fields and golden valleys through the oak-dotted hills of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Apr. 15, 2010 Lori reports: Poppy Preserve We took these pictures on Wednesday April 14, the preserve and the surrounding areas were absolutely stunning, gorgeous.......

Apr. 15, 2010 Erik reports: Carrizo Plain - About 15 miles south of the visitor center, there are incredible yellow and blue blooms. You have to find the dirt road to the left of Sode Lake Road, drive that to the end, then walk about 1.5 miles

More reports on page 2