OC SPOTLIGHT : FLOWER POWER HOUR : County Parks Folk Are Predicting Spectacular Displays This Season

For Orange County, this spring’s wildflower season is shaping up as one of those classic good news/bad news stories.

The good news is, all the rain that fell this winter should make for the best wildflower display in years. The bad news? That same rain caused extensive storm damage to trails and roads in several local parks that promise good flower shows, making them inaccessible for now.

Closures include the west end of Chino Hills State Park (Telegraph Canyon and the West Ridge Trail), the inland reaches of Crystal Cove State Park, and all of Whiting Ranch Regional Park and Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park. Reopening of the parks depends on the severity of the damage and the availability of heavy equipment for repairs; in some cases, it could take a couple of weeks.

Fortunately, there are still several stellar local spots to take in nature’s spring show, which has just gotten underway in most places and should peak in the next two weeks before fading by late April. Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Oak Canyon Nature Center, Caspers Wilderness Regional Park, Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary and the Environmental Nature Center are all candidates for a fine day’s outing among the blooms.

For those willing to head outside the county, for a day or longer, some terrific shows are predicted. Death Valley is expected to have the best season in decades; other desert areas closer to home, including Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the Living Desert reserve and Joshua Tree National Monument, show promising signs of strong wildflower displays.

Areas that aren’t too heavily visited during the spring include the Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County, which is a good bet because of its native grasslands and other rich habitats, and the backcountry of Santa Catalina Island, accessible on tours from Avalon.

Park rangers and naturalists are almost uniformly enthusiastic about the spring flower displays.

“It’s really going to be quite spectacular this year,” said Raul Herrera, park ranger at Santiago Oaks Regional Park. “We’re enjoying what’s up already.”

Two factors point to a strong wildflower season, according to botanist Tony Bomkamp, field trip chairman for the California Native Plant Society. One is the rain that fell in January and February; the other is the seed bank left by last season’s relatively strong display.

“Last year was actually a pretty good season, and it left a fairly good seed bank,” Bomkamp said. “You’ve got two pluses, so it’s a double whammy. (This season) should really be good.”

The flowers are actually a little later than expected this year, mostly because the low temperatures of January and February slowed things up.

“I kind of expected stuff to come up early, because of the early rains, but early rains haven’t translated into early flowers, mostly because it’s been so cold,” Bomkamp said. The warm spell that arrived with March, however, should push things along now.

A few notes are in order. Anyone expecting flower-carpeted hillsides on the order of “The Sound of Music” is going to be disappointed, at least within the county. Some deserts occasionally achieve such dense blooms, and the Antelope Valley is famous for its fields of poppies, but Orange County has to make do with more modest pleasures.

Fields of wild mustard will blanket some hillsides in a rich yellow, but it is not a native, having been imported by the padres to demarcate El Camino Real. The county’s native grasslands, which once supported rich stands of native flowers in spring, are almost extinct, having been buried under development or forever altered by the introduction of non-native grasses during the cattle-grazing era.

Locally, wildflowers are more scattered, although some patches will be swathed in brilliant color. Annuals are popping up throughout the backcountry, in the oak woodlands and along streams, on old burn areas and in the native hillside scrub communities (chaparral and coastal sage scrub). Perennials and shrubs are also in bloom.

Because of drainage patterns, flowers are often thickest along the roadways, and a drive through the local hills can reveal many areas of native color: try Ortega Highway (drivers, keep your eyes on the road) and Santiago Canyon Road.

Parks with natural areas are among the best places to go hunting for flowers, because there are well-marked trails and, often, nature centers with information on what to look for. Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange, with plants of several county habitats, is an excellent place to start. Rangers there keep an updated list of blooming flowers in the park and also maintain a recorded wildflower hot line (see accompanying story, Page 16).

A walk along the park’s nature trail with Bomkamp a week ago turned up more than 40 plant species, many already in bloom and others ready to flower. Among the plants in flower: fuchsia-flowered gooseberry, wild cucumber, sticky monkey flower, purple nightshade, California peony, baby blue eyes, blue dicks, blue-eyed grass and fiddleneck.

“This one here would have to be classified as a pretty rare plant (locally), because of loss of habitat,” Bomkamp said, pointing out a delicate yellow flower in the violet family called the Johnny jump-up. “This is the first time I’ve seen it in Orange County.”

Some of the plants of the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities were near to flowering, such as lemonadeberry, toyon, laurel sumac and black sage. The rains have also been good to a family of non-flowering plants, the ferns, several varieties of which were seen on the walk.

Field guides are handy for flower-hunting, and Bomkamp suggested several: “Flowering Plants: The Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal & Chaparral Regions of Southern California” by Nancy Dale (Borgo Press, 1989), “Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains” by Milt McAuley and “Roadside Plants of Southern California” by Thomas J. Belzer (Mountain Press Publishing Co., 1984).

A hand lens with a magnifying power of 10 is also a recommended accessory, helpful for both identification and enjoyment of some of the smaller specimens. Another tip: wear sturdy walking shoes and, if you plan to go crashing through any heavy brush, loose-fitting long pants. Flower season is also tick season.

There’s one rule to follow, especially in the parks: Don’t pick the flowers.

Jerry Schad, author of the trail guide “Afoot and Afield in Orange County” (Wilderness Press, 1992) suggested Crystal Cove State Park (currently closed) and Casper’s Wilderness Regional Park as excellent places to seek out flowers. He also recommended a couple of spots outside the park system, in the Cleveland National Forest:

The Trabuco Canyon Trail departs from the east end of Trabuco Creek Road, a 5.7-mile dirt road off Live Oak Canyon Road that can pose problems for some passenger cars. The 3.6-mile trail traverses both coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities as it ascends into picturesque Upper Trabuco Canyon. In past seasons here, Schad has seen both red and yellow monkey flowers, prickly phlox, bush poppies, matilija poppies, Indian paintbrush, bush lupines and other flowering plants.

Burn areas often produce a number of “fire-following” plant species in the seasons following a blaze. For a chance to see such an area, Schad recommended the Bear Canyon Trail, which is just over the county border in Riverside County.

The trail (called the Tenaja Trail on some maps) departs from the Ortega Oaks store, on Ortega Highway, just north of the Upper San Juan Campground. A 9.5-mile round trip will take hikers all the way to Sitton Peak and back, although it’s not necessary to walk that far to see the wildflowers.

Detailed descriptions of both the Trabuco Canyon and Bear Canyon trails are available in Schad’s book and in Kenneth S. Croker’s “Santa Ana Mountains Trail Guide” (Whale & Eagle Publishing, 1991). They are also detailed on U.S. Forest Service trail maps of the Cleveland National Forest.

Outside the county, the wildflower news is good in the desert, less so in a couple of other traditional wildflower spots. In the Antelope Valley, weeds took early advantage of the rains and are choking out the poppies.

“It’s a gloomy year in the poppy reserves,” said Dennis Bryson of the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley, a clearinghouse for wildflower news that maintains a recorded hotline for all of Southern California. Death Valley is reporting the best blooms in “many, many years,” he said, and Catalina is “another area that’s really reporting beautiful stuff.”

The foundation also maintains a 21-acre native plant nursery that is open to the public.

The Santa Rosa Plateau is a fairly new reserve managed by the Nature Conservancy, a few miles west of Temecula in Riverside County.

“Quite a few of our early spring wildflowers are now out, and we would expect some really spectacular displays through April,” said preserve manager Robin Wills.

Shooting stars are prolific, he reported last week. Other plants in bloom include checker mallow, California buttercup and popcorn flowers. The Oak Tree Trail, which departs from the main gate, is a good introduction to the plants of the reserve, he said.

The deserts, finally, are expecting a spectacular season. A drive through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on Saturday showed lots of scattered flowers and signs that things were really ready to take off. Park officials expect the next two weeks to be the season’s peak for annuals, with cacti blooming later in the month.

Among the blooming plants spotted on Saturday: desert aster, desert lily, desert sunflower, sand verbena, desert agave, brittlebush, creosote, ocotillo, lupine and locoweed. The park maintains a wildflower hotline and publishes an excellent color brochure with color pictures of the most common desert blooms.

John Stewart, naturalist at the 1,200-acre Living Desert reserve in Palm Desert, said he is girding for huge crowds over the next several weekends, and with good reason: “It’s going to be an excellent wildflower season.”

A FEW COMMON COUNTY FLOWERS *CALIFORNIA POPPY Description: Berb with stems up to two feet tall; four satiny, showy petals are up to 2 1/2 inches long. Found: Grassy slopes and flats below 2,000 feet. *LUPINE Description: Stout, erect annual eight to 24 inches high; pea-shaped flowers are about half an inch long in small clusters; pods are covered with short hairs. Found: Along roadside, on burned areas and in disturbed areas below 1,500 feet. *INDIAN PAINTBRUSH Description: Perennial with a purplish stem 12 to 20 inches high and covered with soft, short hairs. Scarlet-tipped flowers grow in a spike at the end of the stem, giving the effect of a brush dipped in red paint. Found: Open grassy areas and among shrubs in coastal sage and chaparral. *WILD HYACINTH (also known as BLUE DICKS) Description: Has a bare stem one to two feet tall and grass-like leaves that can be up to 16 inches long. There are four to 10 purple-blue flowers in a head-like cluster. Found: Very common in coastal sage and grassland. *MARIPOSA LILIES Description: Flowers grow in erect cups two to three inches across. Several varieties grow locally, with colors ranging from white to yellow to pink. The stem varies by species. Found: The pink variety (illustrated here) is found on dry, rocky slopes and brushy areas. *JOHNNY-JUMP-UPS Description: A member of the violet family, the Johnny-jump-up is a slender-stemmed perennial four to 14 inches high. There are five yellow petals; the two upper ones are tinged with brown outside, the three lower ones veined with purple. Found: Chaparral and oak woodland below 2,000 feet. *PRICKLY PHLOX Description: A multi-branched shrub about three feet tall with woolly stems. The rose-pink flowers, one to 1 1/2 inches across, have a white center and a long tube that expands into a flat border. Found: Openings in chaparral. *Source: “Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains” by Nancy Dale *

Wildflower Hot Lines

Several wildflower hot lines keep Southern Californians informed as to how the season’s blooms are progressing.

Theodore Payne Foundation--the Sun Valley-based foundation and nursery--maintains a hot line that tracks wildflower hot spots all over the Southland, from Santa Barbara to Anza-Borrego. The foundation also publishes a wildflower locater map. The hot line number is (818) 768-3533.

Santiago Oaks Regional Park--This county park in Orange is an excellent place to get acquainted with some local plants and flowers. Park rangers maintain a hot line that’s updated daily during the peak of the season: (714) 538-4429.

Living Desert--This reserve in Palm Desert maintains a recorded hot line that covers its own gardens and wild areas as well as several neighboring desert areas: (619) 340-0435.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park--This vast park in San Diego County is one of the most popular wildflower spots in Southern California. Call (619) 767-4684.

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Additional Bloomers

Here are some details on wildflower hot spots outside the county and mentioned in the accompanying story.

Santa Rosa Plateau-- Preserve manager Robin Wills recommends the Oak Tree Trail. The Trans-Preserve and Lomas trails are also good bets. To get to the reserve (open dawn to dusk daily), take the Clinton Keith Road exit from Interstate 15 near Temecula and drive five miles south to the front gate. Information: (714) 677-6951.

Santa Catalina Island-- “We’re expecting a really nice wildflower season,” says Misty Gay, naturalist for the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. The catch? “You have to be willing to walk a little ways.” In Avalon, Wrigley Botanic Gardens is a good spot to see a variety of cactus in bloom. Tours to the interior of the island are offered by private companies. Call the Avalon Chamber of Commerce, (310) 510-1520, for tour information. Call the Balboa Pavilion for information on getting to the island from Newport Beach: (714) 673-5245.

Living Desert--This 1,200-acre preserve has a nature center and trails on Portola Avenue in Palm Desert. To get there, take Interstate 10 east to Gene Autry Trail. Exit south to Highway 111 and turn left. In Palm Desert, turn right on Portola Avenue. The reserve is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information: (619) 346-5694.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park--Only a small percentage of this vast (600,000 acres) park is accessible from the pavement, but as luck would have it, some of the best wildflower areas are near the road. It’s about 2 1/2 hours from Orange County. From Interstate 15, exit east on California 79 in Temecula and proceed past Warner Springs. Turn left on Highway S22 and follow it to the park’s visitor center in Borrego Springs. Camping and lodging in the park can be hard to come by in spring. Information: (619) 767-4684.

Joshua Tree National Monument--This desert park, because of its elevation, will bloom later than Anza-Borrego. From Interstate 10, head east past Banning to California 62. In the town of Twentynine Palms, turn right on Utah Trail and watch for the visitor center on the right. Information: (619) 367-7511.

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COUNTY WILDFLOWER HOT SPOTS Orange County doesn’t have the grand wildflower displays that carpet some areas of Southern California. But a multitude of species can be found singly and in small patches in many of the county’s parks, especially after this season’s rains. Some of the parks offer guided walks and nature programs; call for information. 1. Carbon Canyon Regional Park Where: 4422 Carbon Canyon Road, Brea. Whereabouts: Exit the Orange (57) Freeway at Lambert Road and head east. Lambert becomes into Carbon Canyon Road; the park will be on the right. Where to call: (714) 996-5252. Note: Some undeveloped parts of the park, where most of the wildflowers grow, have been closed because of storm damage. Call ahead. *2. Chino Hills State Park Where: Rim Crest entrance, Yorba Linda. Whereabouts: Exit the Riverside (91) Freeway at Lakeview Avenue and go north. Turn right on Yorba Linda Boulevard, then left at Fairmont Boulevard. Turn left on Rim Crest Drive and continue onto Blue Gum Drive. Park on the street. Where to call: (714) 780-6222. Notes: Only cyclists and hikers can enter the park here (no cars). Some of the trails and vehicular roads in the park were damaged in the storms, including Telegraph Canyon; call for specifics. 3. Oak Canyon Nature Center Where: 6700 E. Walnut Canyon Road, Anaheim. Whereabouts: Exit the Riverside (91) Freeway at Imperial Highway and head south. Turn left at Nohl Ranch Road and go to Walnut Canyon Road. Turn left and park at the end of the road. Where to call: (714) 998-8380 4. Santiago Oaks Regional Park Where: 2145 N. Windes Drive, Orange. Whereabouts: Take the Newport (55) Freeway to Katella Avenue and exit east. Follow the road as it becomes Santiago Canyon Road, and turn left on Windes Drive. Park in the lot at the end of the road. Where to call: (714) 538-4400. Notes: The park has established a recorded wildflower hot line, updated daily. Call (714) 538-4429. 5. Irvine Regional Park Where: 21501 Chapman Ave., Orange. Whereabouts: Exit the Newport (55) Freeway at Chapman Avenue and go east. Turn left at Santiago Canyon Road and bear right at the park entrance. Where to call: (714) 633-8074. 6. Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park Where: Aliso Creek Road and Alicia Parkway, Laguna Niguel. Whereabouts: From Interstate 5, take Alicia Parkway south and turn right on La Paz Road. Turn right on Aliso Creek Road and then left on Alicia Parkway. Take the first right on Awma Road and park in the lot. Where to call: (714) 831-2791. Notes: The park has been closed because of storm damage but may open again soon. Call for information. 7. Whiting Ranch Regional Park Where: Portola and Bake parkways, Lake Forest. Whereabouts: Take Interstate 5 to Lake Forest Drive and head north about five miles to Portola Parkway. Turn left; the park is on the right. Where to call: (714) 589-4729. Notes: The park is closed because of storm damage, but should reopen before the end of the wildflower season. Call for information. 8. Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary Where: 29322 Modjeska Canyon Road, Modjeska Canyon. Whereabouts: Take Interstate 5 to El Toro Road and head northeast. Follow the road several miles until it becomes Santiago Canyon Road; turn right on Modjeska Canyon and follow it to the preserve. Where to call: (714) 649-2760. Notes: Several trails also depart from this point into backcountry areas that should be rich in flowers. 9. O’Neill Regional Park Where: 30892 Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco Canyon. Whereabouts: Take Interstate 5 to El Toro Road and head northeast. Follow the road several miles and bear right on Live Oak Canyon Road, at Cook’s Corner. Follow the road to the preserve. Where to call: (714) 858-9365 10. Environmental Nature Center Where: 1601 16th St., Newport Beach. Whereabouts: Take the Newport (55) Freeway south until it becomes Newport Boulevard; turn left on 16th Street and follow it to the center, which is adjacent to Newport Harbor High School. Park between the football stadium and the school superintendent’s office. Where to call: (714) 645-8489 11. Crystal Cove State Park Where: 8471 Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. Whereabouts: From Newport Beach, take Coast Highway south several miles and watch for the El Moro Canyon sign on the left. Where to call: (714) 494-3539. Notes: The inland areas of the park are closed because of storm damage and could remain closed for another two weeks or more. Call for information. 12. Caspers Wilderness Park Where: 33401 Ortega Highway, east of San Juan Capistrano. Whereabouts: Exit Interstate 5 at Ortega Highway and go east 7 1/2 miles; the park is on the left. Where to call: (714) 728-0235. Notes: The park is not open to anyone under 18. Source: Individual parks