Wild Flower Round Up. Are they about done?

May 18, 2006

Well, that about does it. Or does it?

The Poppies are pretty well done for; Goldfields, too.

But there are some other flowers out there even though the temperatures are in the 90s and there are more to come.

Giant Four O'Clocks are still gathering themselves for a show. They grow to about two feet in height and are covered with pink blooms. Very striking.

Jimson Weed is coming along and I expect their large white trumpets to be opening soon.

Already in wide display are the roadside Primroses. I think of them as the Kleenex of the flower world. Their white flowers clustered on the shoulder of the road resemble discarded tissues pretty well.

Even our backyard orchard/garden, which was knee deep in poppies as recently as last week, is rapidly going to seed despite the fact that we water it regularly.

Here are a couple of pictures taken May 10 in the orchard. The purple flowers are lupines on one of two perennial lupine plants given to us by my sister Judy several years ago. This is the first year they bloomed. We think they are gorgeous.

This week, the temperatures took off and the blossoms did too. We have a lot of seed pods this week and a lot fewer flowers. Still a good show, but not like last week.

If you'd like a similar display in your back yard next spring, go get some poppy seeds out at the Antelope Valley Resource Conservation District Nursery on Avenue I at about 110th Street West now. For about $2, you can buy enough seed to handle a pretty large area.

Don't wait until next spring to scatter them about. We had carryover poppy plants from last year plus some that I planted in February. The February plantings are just now coming into bloom and the plants are small; most are less than six inches tall. The carryover plants grew almost two feet high.

Think about it. Mother Nature has already scattered Poppy seed for next year's plants.

There are other places to buy wildflower seeds. The Theodore Payne Foundation (www.theodorepayne.org), and others offer wonderful selections if you have some open space that needs sprucing up.

Poppies are wonderful reseeders if you leave them alone through the "ugly" stage as the seed pods and plants dry out. Once the pods have burst and scattered seed, the plants go to pieces quite nicely when run through the shredder.

The seeds are easy to collect, too. Just be patient and wait for the pods to "brown up" a little, pick them and put them into a brown paper bag to finish drying. They will burst in the bag making it easy to collect the seeds. This applies, of course, to Poppies in YOUR yard. There are legalities to be observed when it comes to wild plants.

Time to go.

20 April 2006

Went out for a little drive. Here's the report.

I toured the west side of the Valley Wednesday afternoon and here's what I found:

Goldfields, lots and lots of Goldfields, starting at about 60th Street West on Avenue I and continuing on out to Neenach at 300th Street West. Goldfields can be seen from miles away on hillsides south of Lancaster Road, on the lower slopes of the Tehachapi Mountains, on the Fairmont Buttes; they're all over the place.

Poppies, on the other hand, are a little more selective. There's an accessible photogenic spot just to the west of the Poppy Reserve near the intersection of 170th Street West and Lancaster Road and there are major fields visible from Lancaster Road and Highway 138. The Poppy Reserve, alas, is not a really great spot for poppies this year.

To the north of the Reserve, there are acres and acres of Goldfields with some Desert Dandelion and poppies mixed in. Access to this area is by dirt road from Highway 138 (Avenue D) at about 140th Street West. This area is often home to displays of Owl's Clover and Lacey Phacelia, but not so far this year. There are some of each, but not bang-the-drum displays.

I drove out to the big display of Poppies and Goldfields north of Highway 138 at about 190th Street West. (It's all dirt roads, some more challenging than others. I went in from Rosamond Boulevard and 170th Street West taking the left-most dirt road of the three. It's a couple of miles of uninspiring dirt road before you get to the rewarding part.) The Goldfields are still putting on a great display, although they are drying out. The poppies, too, are displaying well, but they are not as closely massed as in previous years. Good photos are still possible.

On the western edge of the big patch, Joshua trees and creosote bushes take over. Amongst them are more Goldfields with some Thistle Sage mixed in. You have to keep a sharp eye out for the sage as it grows in small patches rather than in masses like Goldfields. It's odd, ball shaped, blooms start out spike covered then open into beautiful purple flowers.

Our son tells us that the hills around Gorman are giving a good show. I have not seen it to tell you what's there other than his description of 'some purple stuff and some yellow stuff.' Probably Lupine and Coreopsis if history is a guide.

I drove back in on Highway 138, but I believe a ride all the way out Lancaster Road to Highway 138 would be fruitful.

Don't forget that this is Poppy Festival weekend at Lancaster's City Park at Avenue L and the AV Freeway. Lots of music, food and fun. www.poppyfestival.com

Please be careful out there. Rattlesnakes are up and about. Watch where you walk and keep your ear tuned for rattlesnake buzz. There has been some rain damage to dirt roads. Don't let a rut ruin your day.

See you in the fields.