spring in San Diego's desert

Our desert is full of jaw-droppingly beautiful plants that are supported by fragile biocrusts.

strawberry hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. engelmannii) is stealing the show here.

strawberry hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. engelmannii)

desert five-spot (Eremalche rotundifolia)

beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris)

This silvery young brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) is finding its way in a crevice.

A perfect bouquet of chuparosa (Justicia californica), multiple cactus species and wildflowers

Mojave desertstar (Monoptilon bellioides)

strawberry cactus (Mammillaria dioica)

teddy bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii ssp. bigelovii)

There’s nothing quite like backlit cacti at dawn and dusk.

Arizona chalk dudleya (Dudleya arizonica)

Bigelow’s moneyflower (Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii)

California barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)

California barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)

Emory's rockdaisy (Perityle emoryi)

Parish’s poppy (Eschscholzia parishii)

This ornate checkered beetle (Trichodes ornatus) was visiting Wolf’s cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii) to grab a meal and perhaps lay eggs. I’d have liked to stick around to observe a bit more and take additional photos, but I was ready to pass out from the midday heat in this low elevation portion of the desert near the San Diego County and Imperial County lines.

Wolf’s cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii) in all its glory

Imagine the night skies we could enjoy if we cut the lights when we weren't actively using them. Thankfully, the campground lights illuminating the foreground and skyglow from Calexico-Mexicali at left don't entirely obscure our Milky Way Galaxy when viewed from in this spot. Saving power in this respect would help migratory birds as well.

Recent memories of Agua Caliente County Park

Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae) working chuparosa (Justicia californica) 

ghost flower (Mohavea confertiflora) and Emory's rock daisy (Perityle emoryi)

narrow-leaved cryptantha (Johnstonella angustifolia)

Bigelow's monkeyflower (Diplacus bigelovii)

brown-eyed primrose (Camissonia claviformis)

Arizona lupine (Lupinus arizonicus)

turtleback (Psathyrotes ramosissima)

Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae) working Fremont's desert-thorn (Lycium fremontii)

brittlebush (Encelia farinosa)

California's only native palm (Washingtonia filifera) viewed through an oasis window of red willow (Salix laevigata)

California fagonbush (Fagonia laevis)

California barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus) and Emory's rock daisy (Perityle emoryi)

phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)

desert needles (Palafoxia arida var. arida)

Carrizo Mountain sandmat (Euphorbia pediculifera)

black-tailed gnatcatcher (Polioptila melanura) in creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) 

teddy-bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii)

Happy New Year

Sphaeralcea ambigua 'Louis Hamilton' (a horticultural selection of desert globemallow) is leaning on our massive Dudleya brittonii in the latest bout of rain.

A March visit to San Diego's desert

On the other side of the mountains from coastal San Diego lies the Sonoran Desert, an ecoregion that spans multiple states in two countries. As Earth’s most biologically diverse desert, its intrinsic and aesthetic value is immeasurable.

ccotillos (Fouquieria splendens) at dawn

ghost flower (Mohavea confertiflora)

Bigelow's monkeyflower (Mimulus bigelovii)

This California barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus) is beautiful even in death.

Gander's cholla (Cylindropuntia ganderi) backlit at dawn

A male Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae) perched on a creosote bush (Larrea tridentata)

As with many areas of the desert where human activity has disturbed the cryptobiotic crusts, invasive, highly flammable grasses and other weeds from overseas have set up shop in Galleta Meadows. It’s an impressive sculpture park that gets a lot of foot traffic—and car traffic despite the signs asking people to park along the road and walk a bit. There is, or was, a particularly grand desert lily I make a point of visiting there and it was nowhere to be found this spring. Its emergence may have been impacted by the mechanical method used to clear weeds from around the creosote shrubs; it shredded desert lily leaves and unearthed the bulbs of very young plants that were still close to the surface (they sink lower as the plants mature). I wish I'd documented the tiny, unearthed bulbs before frantically replanting them as best I could with my hands, but it didn’t cross my mind in the moment.

Desert lilies (Hesperocallis undulata) have a fragrance that matches the beauty of their blossoms and leaves. The leaf damage is apparent here.

This is the mature desert lily I was unable to find this year.

A male phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)

A queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) working Hartweg's climbing milkweed (Funastrum heterophyllum)

This Coquillettapis sp. bee was curled up for the evening in a desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) blossom.

dune scorpion (Smeringurus mesaensis)

There are eight desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis ssp. nelsoni), including two lambs, blending into the pale rocks here. I heard them charging up the mountain before I saw them.

After talking to the rangers about doing so, I set up my camera trap to see who might visit the spring running through the campground during our stay. This coyote walked off with an early morning snack of what was most likely a Baja California treefrog. I hope to “catch” a fox here someday.

Robin Street-Morris. Desert Star Rise. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Cypripedium montanum

I made this Cypripedium montanum-inspired painting in celebration of the two plants I found during my visit to Yosemite National Park. It was a dream of mine to see them growing in situ. When nature is in balance, the giant sequoias’ shaded understories can be full of incredible plant life which in turn supports diverse wildlife.

Understory Jewel (Cypripedium montanum). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14” x 19” (36 x 48cm).

If you’re interested in purchasing a print of this piece, please tap on the image of the painting.

I will have this mixed media painting and a few others on display in the San Diego County Orchid Society’s spring show next week at the Scottish Rite Center. Details may be found here.

Sea dahlias

It’s sea dahlia time, both in our garden and what’s been preserved of San Diego’s coastal strand and coastal sage scrub. Once these perennials finish flowering for the year, they’ll enter summer dormancy and receive very little garden water. I trim the leaves once they’re brown and accept that having some “dead” sticks in the yard is worth it for the show they put on in the spring. They reseed easily if you let them—I’ve even got some popping up in my giant pot of spare coastal cholla pieces which is somehow a thing I have.

View from the Guy Fleming Trail at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.

Backlit beauty

I watched this California ground squirrel inhale blossom after blossom after snacking on Phacelia leaves.

Katydid nymph in our garden. Visit the California Native Plant Society-San Diego Chapter’s seed shop if you’d like to grow this plant yourself.

California Native Plant Week

Homeowners nearby got California Native Plant Week started a little early by having a magnificent laurel sumac chopped down. I'd have been thrilled had it come with our house purchase instead of the acacias and ecosystem-altering saltcedar that's since been replaced with a bush rue. I'm hoping our immediate neighbors don't feel pressured to do the same with their lemonade berry; it's trimmed up into an open shape the fire department feels is acceptable for creating a defensible space and isn't going to be responsible for our homes burning down if disaster hits this canyon. Palm fronds grazing our homes’ roofs and embers landing in leaf-filled gutters are another story. Those things are easily addressed without leveling more habitat and making our views hideous, though the powers that be already accomplished the latter at least somewhat by festooning the canyon finger with colored tape last fall urging us to do the former.

I dried my eyes, blew my nose and headed down to Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve to escape the sounds of the chainsaws that were giving me chills and to remind myself of what made me want to live in this area in the first place.

Peñasquitos Creek riparian zone

Mountain lion snacks doing some pruning

It and other discarded masks left with me along with the usual wrappers and plastic bottles.

Parish's nightshade (Solanum parishii)

Coast prickly pear (Opuntia littoralis)

Sycamore and willow holding paws

I learned that our San Diego chapter of the California Native Plant Society is to have a new mascot based on Dudleya pulverulenta. I could have painted one at its plumpest, but liked the contrast of the curled leaves and lush center of this one. It shows how well adapted they are to surviving our dry season while remaining beautiful. The inspiration for this piece is growing near a narrow path that dips low next to a bridge that’s part of a multiuse trail in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. One day, I was standing in said spot photographing it and a guy on a mountain bike shouted down to me asking if I was going to move any time soon. He wanted to take the more challenging way down rather than riding across the bridge. I told him pleasantly that I wasn’t finished and that the path I was on is for pedestrians and equestrians. He retorted that he didn’t see any horses. I suggested he ride across the bridge which he proceeded to do while calling me a few choice words women tend to not appreciate. I’ve learned that trail usage signs do little to stop cyclists out there and that if I stand my ground on the pedestrian/equestrian trails they ride around me into the plants, so I’ve given up on that approach.

Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya pulverulenta). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 140lb hot press paper. 13” x 18” (33 x 46cm).

(Please click or tap on the image above if you’re interested in purchasing a fine art print. )

Wherever we rest our heads the vast majority of nights is our home. Unless we’re camping (or homeless), we leave the preserves and parks and return to our apartments, condos and houses at night. The plants and animals in them have nowhere else to go, thus it’s my opinion that we owe them the right of way when we’re in their home.

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and white sages (Salvia apiana) are putting on a show in our yard as are many other sages and wildflowers.

Fragrant evening-primrose (Oenothera cespitosa)

This is the first one of the year with more blossoms on the way. I’m thinking of placing my camera trap facing the next round of buds when I see them beginning to open. Maybe I’ll catch one of its pollinators, the spectacular white-lined sphinx moth. This species isn’t native to the coast, but I couldn’t resist it. It’s well-behaved in the garden and I pluck spent blooms.

Fragrant Evening-Primrose (Oenothera cespitosa)

Bobcat

We were recently cited by the San Diego Fire Department for having overgrown foliage. Coastal sunflowers (Encelia californica) and other natives to this area experience a dormancy period in summer and early fall that make some of them appear dead even though they’re not. As I trimmed them back to appease the powers that be, I encountered green wood immediately. While green in outward appearance, the nonnative bank catclaw (Acacia redolens) planted by the developer to stabilize the slope has been removed. I’m replanting the slope myself with more species that are native to our address. This bobcat recently walked past a newly planted Del Mar manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. crassifolia) and marked its Acacia stump.

Speaking of chaparral, a piece of mine titled Nemeton VII, inspired by a tunnel of oaks in nearby Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, was just selected for The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild 2020 Online International Winter Exhibition which in online for obvious reasons. The original is available. Prints may be purchased by clicking on the image of the painting below.

Robin Street-Morris. Nemeton VII. 2020. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Sunny Side Up

I love coastal California poppies both for their extended blooming season and their compact, blue-green foliage tipped with burgundy. It compliments the orange and yellow of their exceptionally beautiful and cheerful blossoms perfectly. Ours have only been watered by fog in many months and are frequented by native bees.

Prints are available here.

Argentine ants strike again

Saddened but not surprised is how I'd describe myself this morning after finding the Anna's hummingbird nest I'd been watching overrun by Argentine ants.  I'd been hoping for the best and mentally preparing myself for the worst as is advisable when observing nature closely.  She was still on her nest yesterday evening with no peeping coming from it.  There was clearly a horror story unfolding near the house sometime between then and getting up to make coffee.  They've been known to drive the parent off of the nest if they discover it in order to attack and feed on the baby birds.  They also farm honeydew-producing sucking insects like scale, mealybugs and aphids that have decimated many of my established native plants.  I'm hoping to save the rest by employing knowledgeable nurseryman Greg Rubin's approach to combating this invasive species; it's linked to in this informative blog post by the California Chaparral Institute.  I also found this article from the University of California Riverside Center for Invasive Species Research helpful in gaining a better understanding what we're up against. 

A first bloom

I saw Matilija poppies in bloom for the first time years ago at a trailhead in Rose Canyon here in San Diego and my jaw dropped.  Miniature flowers that I have to keep my nose down to find and appreciate hold a special place in my heart, but the attention this giant poppy commanded was undeniable.  I germinated some seeds given to me by a botanist friend, rushed their move into the ground and they didn’t survive.  This nursery acquired plant is blooming for the first time today after two years of being planted and another will follow shortly.  Its fragrance is reminiscent of roses. 

Coast cholla (Cylindropuntia prolifera)

This is my favorite cholla species. Yes, I have a favorite cholla species. The one I purchased from Moosa Creek a few years ago bloomed for the first time this spring. This photo is of one growing in situ near the waterfall in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.

You can learn more about this plant here.

Mariposa lily

When I first saw Weed's mariposa lilies blooming years ago in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, I was struck by their unique beauty.  Mariposa is the Spanish word for "butterfly" and it's easy to see how they earned that common name when one witnesses them fluttering in the breeze.  As with too many of my favorite species that have a limited range in our southern California and Baja California region, its conservation status is vulnerable due to habitat loss from development.  

Weed’s mariposa lily (Calochortus weedii var. weedii)