Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Belonging to the family of wildflowers known as umbellifers that includes carrots, dill and celery, this just-about-to-blossom Columbia desert parsley is an uncommon native to the sagebrush steppes of Washington State and Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains. This one was found growing on the hilltops just outside of Yakima, Washington in mid-March.
    Columbia Desert Parsley
  • The intensely and wildly vibrant blue cornflower is found throughout most of North America, but is actually native to Europe, and is only naturalized here. Oddly enough, it is becoming rare and has disappeared completely from many places where it once flourished in the Old World. This one was photographed next to the Columbia River on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.
    Cornflower
  • Harvest brodiaea is a small Northwestern member of the lily family that ranges from Northern California to British Columbia and is found  in early summer in grasslands, coastal fields and meadows. These were found growing in profusion near Catherine Creek in the Columbia River Gorge in Southern Washington.
    Harvest Brodiaea
  • The elegant piperia is an uncommon terrestrial orchid found in scattered locations across the Pacific Northwest at lower elevations, but most often found on rocky outcrops or in open fields mixed with conifers in early to midsummer. This one was photographed high above the Columbia Gorge on the Washington side of the Columbia River.
    Elegant Piperia (Piperia elegans)
  • A California hairstreak feeds on a narrowleaf milkweed in the Columbia Gorge, just on the Washington side, north of the Columbia River. Although it is most common in the state of California, it can be found throughout most of the central western states from the Pacific Coast westward to the Rocky Mountains.
    California Hairstreak
  • The California ground squirrel is a very common western species that has recently expanded north into Washington, as this one was found in the  Washington side of the Columbia Gorge with the Columbia River and Oregon in the background. Highly intelligent, this common prey of rattlesnakes has been known to outsmart attacks using many ingenious methods and is even thought to be somewhat immune to rattlesnake venom.
    California Ground Squirrel
  • Rabbit-foot clover is an uncommon, small fluffy clover found in low-lying grasslands in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. These were photographed in a rocky field in Washington's Columbia River Gorge near Catherine Creek.
    Rabbit-foot Clover
  • Another member of the bluet group of damselflies, the river bluet is found infrequently through the western states and provinces of North America as well and the Midwest. The one shown here was photographed in a dry field in the Columbia Gorge, which separates Oregon from Washington.
    River Bluet
  • In summertime, masses of California poppies line roadsides and open areas, such as here in a field near Southern Washington's  Catherine Creek in the Columbia River Gorge.
    California Poppies
  • Also known as the Mexican whorled milkweed, the narrowleaf milkweed is found throughout most of the American western states and is a favorite food source for monarch butterflies, as well as other nectar-loving insects and butterflies. This was found growing in large numbers in Southern Washington along the Columbia River Gorge.
    Narrowleaf Milkweed
  • This beautifully annoying field and garden pest is here to stay. This member of the morning glory family is found all over North America except Alaska, the Yukon, Northwest Territories. It is found in all Canadian provinces excluding Newfoundland and Labrador, and some of the Caribbean islands. This one was photographed in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington on the Washington-Oregon border.
    Field Bindweed
  • A closeup of the sagebrush mariposa, photographed here in Southern Washington along the dry rocky bluffs over the Columbia River Gorge.
    Sagebrush Mariposa Lily
  • The elegant piperia in its native habitat in Southern Washington growing on a very windy grassland overlooking the Columbia Gorge. Out of the several I found in bloom in this location, they all seemed to favor high elevation in contrast to the surrounding rocky terrain, but near a pine tree - possibly for some protection from the wind.
    Elegant Piperia (Piperia elegans)
  • A turkey vulture spreads its wings from atop a dead tree overlooking the Columbia Gorge in Southern Washington, with Oregon in the background.
    Turkey Vulture
  • In summertie, masses of California poppies line roadsides and open areas, such as here in a field near Southern Washington's  Catherine Creek in the Columbia River Gorge.
    California Poppies
  • Found scattered throughout the North American West, the denseflower willowherb is an easily overlooked beautiful flowering herb found in arid regions of mountain valleys, grasslands, rocky steppes, and along the coast. This one was photographed in the dry arid grasslands in early summer on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.
    Denseflower Willowherb
  • Common St. Johnswort is found in most places in North America except the coldest regions or the driest of deserts. It is traditionally used as an herbal medicine for treating depression. This was photographed near the Oregon-Washington border just north of the Columbia River in Washington's Klickitat County.
    St. John's Wort
  • This native mariposa lily is found in all of the western states and British Columbia in Canada. It is found  mostly on eastern slopes of the Cascades where the climate is drier, most often in the higher elevation steppes and grasslands.
    Sagebrush Mariposa Lily
  • Closeup of the densely packed flowers of the elegant piperia orchid. Looking very similar to ladies-tresses orchids, these distant relatives are found in very scattered locations from British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Northern California. This one was found in early summer in Washington's Klickitat County.
    Elegant Piperia (Piperia elegans)
  • A field in Southern Washington is awash in a dazzling display of brightly colored wildflowers. Predominant are the brilliantly blue cornflowers, as well as wild poppies, asters, lilies, and wild peas.
    Cornflowers
  • Woolly vetch (sometimes called winter vetch) is an important crop used in agriculture for fixing depleted soil nitrogen, and is often planted in fields to correct deficiencies resulting from extensive farming. Found in nearly all of North America, woolly vetch doubles as a tenacious weed that is sometimes hard to remove as vast numbers of seeds are released early which grow back the next season.
    Woolly Vetch
  • Easily one of the most recognized of West Coast wildflowers and the official state wildflower of California, the California poppy is found frequently in summer in open grasslands and open fields. Sometimes in spectacular washes of golden orange-yellow carpets, it will easily transform a landscape in ways that is hard to describe in mere words.
    California Poppies
  • Not all cornflowers are blue. Sometimes they are pink, magenta, white, or any combination of these. This particular field near Catherine Creek in Southern Washington had all kinds of different color variations spread over acres of grassland.
    Cornflower
  • Possibly one of the most common wildflowers in the Northern Hemisphere, the aptly named common yarrow is found in all of North America (excluding some Caribbean islands), and much of Europe and Asia. It has been used for centuries and perhaps millennia as an herbal medicine for stopping blood flow from wounds and nosebleeds. It is found from low to high elevations, and from very wet to very dry locations throughout its range, making it perfectly adapted for life from the Arctic to all but the hottest and driest of deserts.
    Common Yarrow
  • Usually a bright yellow, there is some color variation in California poppies where some of them can be the brightest orange imaginable.
    California Poppy