Well after visiting the beautiful landscapes of Northern California I am inspired by the many wildflowers growing with ease in the dry climate of California. Hiking the coastal ranges makes it easy to see many fantastic blooms that seemingly sprout up without effort. I know there are literally thousands of wildflower varieties and some are very rare. The great Smoky Mountains also offer a lot of wildflower varieties and are a lot closer to Memphis.

Pictured above are wildflowers growing close to Etna, California.

Here is another picture from the Northern California trip. I visited a Lavender field which is located at the base of Mt. Shasta, on the lava flow side. It was very beautiful and I brought back some hand-picked lavender. This picture is courtesy of Jen Howell, see more pics on her blog.