There is a wonderful gem of a wildflower that sprinkles certain hillsides with the three colors of white, lavender, and blue.  The Bird's-eye Gilia (Gilia tricolor) is a leafy annual that blooms robustly during early spring in open grasslands and hillsides of the Coast Ranges, foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, and the Central Valley.

The five white petals are tip-fringed with lavender, but the yellow-throat is often hidden by the blue pollen-covered stamens.  This native species is a great wildflower for collecting, pressing, and drying as the colors do not fade. 

Bird's-eye Gilia is a very common wildflower currently in bloom at the UC Hopland Research & Extension Center.