SPRINGTIME IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Flowers and Sunshine

Coastal manroot, a common wildflower along the northern California coast.

In mid-April I spent a week in Humboldt County in northern California, home of towering redwoods, rugged coastline, rushing rivers and fertile valleys. I have visited Humboldt County numerous times in the fall for the biannual Authors and Illustrators Festival. This time I was doing research for a new book. Unlike my previous research visit in early February, when it rained constantly and the rivers were mad torrents, the weather this time was warm and sunny. 

Swallowtail butterfly.

Flowers were blooming, birds were singing, butterflies had emerged from their chrysalises, and the rivers had mostly returned to their normal steady flow. 

The Mad River, near the town of Blue Lake.

Columbine.

Most of my time was spent working on my project, but one afternoon I took a walk on one of the many trails in the Arcata marsh conservation area and visited the small museum. 

Redwood Creek.

Another day I ate my picnic lunch at the trailhead of Redwood Creek in Redwood National Park near the town of Orick. Everywhere I went I was amazed by the abundance of wildflowers. Here are a few of my springtime photos.

Blue-eyed grass.

California poppies.

Lupines.

Ferns uncurling.

Wild garlic.

A pair of ducks in the Arcata marsh.

SPAIN PHOTO ALBUM, Part 1: Madrid, Avila,

Walled town of Avila, Spain

In the spring of1991, I met my daughter for a ten day driving trip through central and southern Spain.  Jennifer, doing a semester abroad in France, had a week’s vacation and met me in Madrid. Jennifer is fluent in Spanish, which was a big help since my Spanish is limited. After a visit to the medieval walled town of Avila, we did a circle trip to the south, returning to Madrid. The April weather was sunny and cool and the roadsides abloom with red poppies. It was my first trip to Spain and exposure to its historic past--from an ancient Roman outpost, to its Moorish occupation, to the kings and queens of the Age of Exploration, to the present. Here is Part 1 of some highlights from my photo album of the trip.

Poppies.

Madrid, the Center

The Trinity by El Greco, Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

Sabatini Gardens, Madrid.

Baroque architecture, Madrid.

Carved wooden door, Madrid.

Avila, home of St. Teresa

Entrance to the walled city of Avila. Avila is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Saints on Church in Avila

We couldn't leave Avila without purchasing the traditional confection known at Ymas de Avila, basically a sweet made from egg yolks and sugar. 

In many places in Avila you can walk on the walls.

View from the wall of bell tower topped with a stork nest.

The four posts. Roman ruin outside the city walls of Avila.

Look for Part 2 next week, as we visit Granada (the Alhambra), Cordoba, and Toledo.

DESCANSO GARDENS, La Canada Flintridge, CA: Something in Bloom at Every Time of Year

Descanso Gardens, La Canada Flintridge, CA

Recently, when June Gloom brought day after day of cloudy weather to the California coast, we headed inland to get some sun. Our destination: Descanso Gardens, tucked in the hills of La Canada Flintridge, California, just a few miles from downtown Los Angeles. It was the perfect escape into nature from surrounding city life. Its many trails go through cultivated gardens and Southern California’s natural landscape. 

Climbing roses.

Famous for its camellias and tulips in the spring, Descanso Gardens has something new in bloom at every time of year. During our visit in June, the roses were in full bloom, as were the early summer garden flowers and wildflowers on the hillside.

Succulent in bloom.

After purchasing our tickets, we headed down the main promenade, past the seasonal plantings, before deciding which path to take.

Roses.

The gardens include a network of paths ranging from paved walkways to more secluded trails. Using a map we picked up at the entrance to guide our way, we made a circular tour of the gardens, starting with the promenade and roses, then walking around the lake to the oak woodland and California garden, then through the camellia forest and Japanese garden before returning to the entrance.

View of San Gabriel Mountains.

We made our way uphill to the California garden and got a view of the valley and the mountains beyond. 

Giant chalk dudlea.

Along the path we discovered California's only native succulent, Dudleya, and some of its relatives. 

Lizard.

As we walked along we kept an eye out for wildlife that makes the garden its home. An addition to birds, we spotted a ground squirrel, turtle, a mother mallard with her offspring, and a lizard that popped up on top of a fence, performed several pushups, and then scampered away.

Koi in the Japanese Tea Garden.

Throughout the gardens there are numerous benches and shelters inviting one to sit and enjoy the scenery. 

Poppies.

A visit to the garden is always an opportunity for photography, especially close-ups.

So many plants. So little time. We missed seeing the hilltop gardens and Ancient Forest. We’ll have to go back another day.

 For information about visiting Descanso Gardens, go to their website.

THE SUPERBLOOM CONTINUES: Spring Wildflowers in Gorman, CA

Poppies and Lupins on the hills of the Tejon Pass, Gorman, California

California’s torrential rains this past winter have produced the most spectacular bloom of wildflowers in years. From the deserts of Anza Borrego and Joshua Tree National Park to the Poppy Preserve in the Antelope Valley to people's back yards, flowers are everywhere. (See Gretchen Woelfle’s recent guest post 4/15/2019.)

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
It grows wild throughout California, and became the state flower in 1903.

While the giant fields of poppies at lower elevations in Southern California have been replaced by sage and other less colorful vegetation, the hills and valleys at higher elevations are still blooming. At the Tejon Pass through the Tehachapi Mountains near Gorman, the hills look like they’ve been painted with a giant brush–orange for poppies, blue for lupins, yellow for goldfields.

Lupins (Lupinus albifrons)

On Easter weekend, as we headed north on I-5, we took the bypass on the local road through Gorman for a closer look at the flowers. Here are a few of the many flowers we found growing near the road.
The superbloom continues!

Fiddlenecks (Amsinckia menziestii)

California chickoree (Rifinesquia californica)

Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) also known as Burrofat

Clusters of California poppies sprout like giant bouquets amid the grass.

SUPERBLOOM! Flowers Everywhere, Guest Post by Gretchen Woelfle

California poppies, Antelope Valley

My friend and fellow children's book writer Gretchen Woelfle, a frequent contributor to The Intrepid Tourist, recently went to see the amazing burst of wildflowers blooming in the Southern California hills and deserts this spring. Here is her report.
Southern California has made the national and even international news again this spring. No fires or floods or earthquakes this time, but a Superbloom in the hills and deserts, and in small native plant gardens like my own. Just add water and anything will grow in So Cal.  Add lots of it and you get a Superbloom!

Poppies below, gawkers above at Antelope Valley. Poppies open in mid-morning and close at sunset.

The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, fifteen miles west of Lancaster, outdid itself this year. This desert grassland, with eight miles of looped trails, offers close-up and long views of whole hillsides of poppies, interspersed with lupine and other colorful blooms.

Desert garden at Anza-Borrego Visitor Center.

 Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a 600,000 acre state park north and east of San Diego, comes alive with winter rains. The visitor center near Borrego Springs is staffed with friendly rangers who can guide you to the best flower-viewing areas, as well as camping and hiking sites.

A desert bouquet.

The park is a refuge for the rare and endangered bighorn sheep. I didn’t spot any on this trip, but the flower display on the Alternate trail up Palm Canyon was the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. 

Indigo bush in full bloom.

Tiny flowers carpet the ground, bigger ones entwine with mounded flowers to create a natural bouquet. Tall shrubs like the indigo bush and ocotillos sport brilliant blooms as well.

Ocotillo against the mountains.

My own native plant garden, designed by my son back in 2001, has evolved over the years as certain species have thrived and others not.

Native chaparral grasses in my garden.

This year, soft mounds of sages (black, white, and California), California brittlebush (bush sunflower), manzanita, California buckwheat, penstemon, poppies, and tall chaparral bunch grasses make the walk from the sidewalk to my front door a botanical adventure.

White sage, California sage, bush sunflowers in LA.

The painted lady butterflies loved the record rains too. They staged an invasion this spring, as they migrated north. Millions were seen along California's highways, byways, and gardens.

Painted lady butterfly (Vanessa carduii)

I couldn’t capture a photo as they flew by, but Caroline Arnold supplied a photo for me, taken in my garden when she was working on her latest book, Butterflies in Room 6.
Viva la lluvia!

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627
For Caroline's report of her visit to Anza Borrego State Park in 2013, click HERE.