July Wildflowers, South Canyon, Deschutes River, Bend OR

In July, it finally turned warm this year and the trail along the south Deschutes has turned dusty. While flowers were blooming profusely at the end of June, by mid-July, the early flowers had nearly disappeared. The main plant blooming in mid-July is the Large-flowered Collomia, which is really putting on a show. Specimens are now up over two feet high whereas two weeks prior, they were under a foot high, with a single terminal corona of blooms. Despite the ubiquity of the Collomias now, the undisputed champions of this season are the intensely red Scarlet Gilias.

Fireweed, ubiquitous in August, is just starting into bloom now and the Rabbitbrush is starting to show buds for its annual late summer and fall fireworks. In addition, the Snowberries whose white fruits we see all winter hanging on bare shrubs are just starting into bloom.

Fruits are much larger and more visible in mid-July: serviceberries, mountain ash, raspberries, rose hips, manzanita berries, dogwoods, wax currants going red, and some sunnier Oregon grapes starting to get a bluish cast at long last.

And by this time of year, we're seeing more and more plants starting to go to seed. The Yellow Salsify, which blooms all summer, is most noticeable right now by its giant seed heads. The blooms seem to be quite ephemeral, lasting perhaps 24 hours, in contrast to the giant seed heads which are far more durable than the far smaller dandelion seedheads.

Large-Flowered Collomia, Collomia grandiflora

Fireweed Just Starting, Chamerion angustifolium

Wax Currant Berries Ripening, Ribes cereum

Lewis' Mock Orange, Philadelphus lewisii

Oregon Grape Berries, Mahonia aquifolium

Pale Agoseris, Agoseris glauca

Woodland Pinedrops Starting to Open, Pterospora andromedea

Rabbitbrush Showing Buds, Ericameria nauseosa

Ocean Spray, Holodiscus discolor

Scarlet Gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata

Snowberries Beginning to Bloom, Symphoricarpos sp.

Red Osier Dogwood Berries Forming, Cornus sericea

Deschutes Monkeyflower, Diplacus deschutensis

Whitebark Raspberry, Rubus leucodermis

5-Foot High Prairie Junegrass, Koeleria macrantha

Yellow Salsify Seedhead, Tragopogon dubius

By the end of the month, very little was in bloom in comparison to mid-month. The Collomias are well on their way out along with the Gilias which are looking ragged after only 2-3 weeks in bloom. The berries have made big strides in ripening in the past two weeks, with the Oregon Grapes going deep blue and the Tatarian Honeysuckles going brilliant crimson.

The long-awaited Rabbitbrush and Goldenrods are just starting to come into flower now to accompany the Mulleins that are just barely open. All should be the riverside stars in August. And finally, the Western Spirea that has been teasing us with buds for months is now in its glory all up and down the river.

Escaped Alfalfa, Medicago sativa

White Sweetclover, Melilotus albus

Western Spirea, Spiraea douglasi 

Oregon Grapes Ripening, Mahonia aquifolium

Scarlet Berries on Tatarian Honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica

Rough Hedge-Nettle, Stachys rigida

Goldenrod, Solidago sp.

The Ever Invasive Spotted Knapweed, Centaurea stoebe

The Glory of our Fall, Rubber Rabbitbrush, Ericameria nauseosa 

Meadow Checkermallow, Sildalcea campestris

Tiny, But Vibrant Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus

Common Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare