California Department of Parks and Recreation
The scene in parts of California in early February, before the wildflower bloom was fully under way.
Parts of the southwest US were considerably colder and wetter than usual this past northern winter, but there’s a payoff, with parts of the region enjoying their best wildflower blooms in at least four years.
California is about to be treated to hillsides awash in poppy superblooms, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.
The poppies are expected to bloom so bright in April and May they will likely be visible from space.
The report included satellite images from the European Space Agency of the 2019 superbloom showing colours spreading from February into April in and around the Carrizo Plain National Monument, an enclosed grassland plain about 160km northwest of Los Angeles.
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A few days ago, TimeOut reported that a bit more warm weather was needed in Southern California before poppies, in particular, showed up.
But it was a tricky balancing act. It couldn’t be too warm “lest all of the blooms shrivel up”, TimeOut said.
And just a day or two ago, California Central Coast TV station KWSBY said mountainsides and valleys in the area were covered in wildflowers.
Kevin Zimmer, a resident of the area, said the wildflower bloom this spring was the best he’d seen in a decade.
The rare and unpredictable wildflower blooms happen when high precipitation in natural landscape areas follow a drought that lasted several years, and in the process elminated grasses and weeds that otherwise took up nutrients, California’s Parks and Recreation Department said.
Meanwhile, to the east of Southern California, The Arizona Republic reported a few days ago there had been an explosion of wildflowers across the Arizona desert in recent weeks.
And it’s not over, with April promising to be just as spectacular.
”Here’s the thing about the 2023 wildflower season. It’s been downright chilly. Cool temperatures, lack of consistent sunshine and lingering rains led the season to unfold in segments. Colour has been dazzling but also localised.
“Now, warmer temperatures and the calendar (buds are bound to turn into blooms at some point) are extending the season into April.”
The blooms are wowing the public, who have been posting pictures with enthusiastic commentary from parts of both states on social media.