Fill Your Home With Lilacs, Good Friends

Lilacs are a back-East flower. Those of us from colder climes wax nostalgic about springtime and lilacs, remembering bushes weighted with plumes of the exquisite purple flowers that bloom only for a few short weeks in spring. Those skimpy bunches that local florists sell cannot fill the gap, we say.

Lilac lovers, rejoice. This weekend, perhaps through next weekend, armloads of locally grown lilacs are available, at bargain prices, to anyone willing to take a country drive. The trick is to buy several bunches, fill the house with them--heaven on Earth--and have all your friends over the next day. Six months later, you’ll still remember how the house looked--and smelled--for that one glorious week.

According to growers, the Acton area, off the Antelope Valley Freeway on the way to Palmdale, is the only place in Southern California where it is cold enough to grow lilacs commercially. It takes a late winter cold snap to produce the gorgeous blooms in spring. At two ranches, Colombo and Blum, workers are busy cutting and packaging lilacs for the wholesale market.

Visitors cannot cut their own lilacs but may purchase them in the ranch barns. Depending on the weather and briskness of sales, Colombo expects to be open through next Saturday; Blum may close a few days earlier. To make sure of a good supply of lilacs, call either ranch before you make the trip.

Huge ‘Bunches’

Lilac aficionados say these “bunches” are more like huge armfuls of the fragrant flowers, one bunch perhaps equaling two or three from a conventional florist.

Colombo Ranch charges $10 a bunch and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (including Easter Sunday). Take the Crown Valley Road exit south off of the Antelope Valley Freeway (California 14) and follow the signs for about three miles. At Colombo you are welcome to saunter through the lilac fields but no picking or picnicking are permitted. Phone (805) 947-3684 for more information.

Blum Ranch charges $3.50 for a smaller bunch and is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, also including Easter. Take the Santiago Road exit south from Highway 14 and follow the Blum signs for three miles.

At Blum Ranch a picnic table is available to visitors, close to the barn and under a huge shade tree. You can walk in the lilac fields and the pear orchard. Call (805) 947-2796 to make sure lilacs are still available.

Keeping the flowers fresh requires some work.

Smash Stems First

“The first 24 hours are the most important,” says Chris Brevidoro, who has owned Colombo Ranch since 1935. When you get the flowers home, “smash the woody stems for about one to two inches from the bottom,” Brevidoro says. “They will soak up water like a sponge. And it’s important to change the water regularly.”

The drive to Acton is a long one. Plan to picnic on the way out, saving the lilac buying until after lunch, when you can drive straight home with your precious cargo. There are three excellent picnicking possibilities along the way: Placerita State Park, Vasquez Rocks and Devil’s Punchbowl.

Driving north from Los Angeles, your first opportunity to picnic will be Placerita Canyon (19150 Placerita Canyon Road, off Highway 14, in Newhall). It has a large oak-shaded picnic grove, plenty of barbecues, a stream and some easy hiking trails. There’s also a small nature center.

Farther north, off Highway 14, Vasquez Rocks (10700 E. Escondido Road in Agua Dulce) is a very different picnicking experience. This is desert picnicking with very little shade but breathtaking views of the boulders, which have been the backdrop for hundreds of cowboy movies and commercials. You’ll enjoy this spot best if you’re dressed to explore the rock formations and appreciate stark landscapes.

Of the three spots, Devil’s Punchbowl (2800 Devil’s Punchbowl Road, off Highway 14, in Pearblossom) is the farthest from Los Angeles, but the most varied. Set on the San Andreas Fault, this is a vivid example of what earthquakes do. The boulders here look as though they’ve been tossed about. Allow plenty of time to hike down into the bowl to the stream, passing willows along the way. Picnicking is limited to the designated area, a shady spot at the top of the bowl. Barbecues are available.