Home»Gallery»Portola Valley Ranch, Windy Hill, Etc.»6/21/2023 Soap Plant Blossoms Each Evening

Evening walks along Sweet Springs Trail have been magical. Clouds of dainty white blossoms hover in the air all around -- Soap Plants blooming each evening. Masses of orange Sticky Monkeyflower continue their robust assertion that this is a good year. Our rare California Pink (earlier known as Indian Pink) blooms again this year, in the only place it can be found in Portola Valley Ranch, right alongside the trail. Honeysuckle flowers droop across. Other wildflowers are done for the year: White Globe Lily seeds are ready to drop; Hound's Tongue, Douglas Iris, Giant Trillium, and even Western Columbine are long gone.

The trail was scheduled for clearing the morning of 6/22. Scott Weber, in charge of this for the Town, placed red cones to protect the California Pink. He will try to have the Soap Plant not cut down, but this may be difficult to do. (The flower stems will shrivel up and disappear once the blossoms are done, probably this week.) I do hope that some of the beauty of the trail remains. In any case, I appreciate Scott's concern and efforts to preserve our natural trail while carrying out the trail clearing task.

A few photos here were taken on earlier mornings, but the best are from the soft hours before dusk on Wednesday, 6/21.