Native wildflowers springing up in the garden

What a delight it is to discover native wildflowers in different parts of the front yard!

Late last autumn I sprinkled native wildflower seeds in bare areas of the native patches, hoping that somehow we'd have adequate winter rains to help the seeds germinate. We did receive some winter and spring rain, but then a gopher made its way to our front yard and proceeded to burrow through, creating 30 holes.

Although the critter didn't destroy any of our plants, while creating holes in the yard it disturbed some of the areas where the wildflower seeds had been strewn.

And here are some of the lovelies that are blooming, in spite of gopher disruption.

Above is a photo of a Common Meadowfoam plant.

These interesting blossoms with a vivid magenta hue are Elegant Clarkia.

Chinese Houses, another wildflower that is growing for the first time in our yard.

Apparently it gets its name from its towers of flower clusters, of decreasing diameter, which give the plants in full flower a certain resemblance to a pagoda. This plant prefers rich, loamy soil and tends to grow in shady places, so its appearance here is a real surprise.