During the longest days of the year, around the summer solstice, a new wave of heat-tolerant wildflowers emerges amid the drying grasses and beneath the forest's dense canopy. There is a final flourish of earlier blooms, though most plants are now setting seed. The summer wildflowers are more widely scattered and often grow tall to compete with the mature grasses. During this season, seven native orchid species can be found blooming in the shaded forests of Bell Springs Mountain.
All photographs copyrighted. © Doug Zimmerman