Bay Area wildflowers

by Elizabeth Jardina, Sunset researcher

One day you're bogged down by February rain, the next thing you know, spring is popping up, literally, in the form of wildflowers all over the Bay Area. We here in the Bay Area are superbly lucky to be surrounded by so many different wildflower environments — serpentine grasslands, emerald foothills, chaparral, creeksides, coastal bluffs, and the dim light of forest understory. Where should you go when the annual spring show begins to pop?

The Marin County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society keeps tabs on what's blooming where on their website, plus they have a handy guide to common Bay Area spring wildflowers. CNPS chapters are terrific places to start your wildflower hunt, especially chapters — such as the East Bay and Monterey Bay ones — that hold regular field trips.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District holds multiple guided walks each weekend at their dozens of protected swaths of open space on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. (Click here for a schedule.) I particularly like the 12 miles of trails at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, where you can spot both woodland flowers like this hound's tongue (above) and giant trillium (below) and grassland flowers like Clarkia blooming in the open trails along Skyline Road. Of course, for dramatic fields of flowers, it's hard to compete with Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve; its relatively high altitude means that wildflower season stretches into May there most years.

Also on the Peninsula, Edgewood County Park in Redwood City has some of the state's finest serpentine grasslands — and gorgeous fields of yellow tidytips, California buttercups, and goldfields, complemented by blue-eyed grass (below), blue lupine, and native larkspur. Volunteer docents lead wildflower walks every Saturday and Sunday from March 15 to June 8.

For a wildflower walk that comes with a bit of adventure, head out to Angel Island, perched in the midst of San Francisco Bay and accessible only by ferry. Spring is the most beautiful time to climb up the gentle slopes of Mount Livermore and admire checker lilies, shooting stars, California buttercups, irises, ceanothus, and unusual natives like California pipevine. (When I took the ramble, my docent compared the latter's lumpy flowers to Jay Leno's face. You be the judge.) Guided wildflower rambles continue through the end of April.

And of course, last but not least, the East Bay is rich with wildflower spots — whether you want to head to Mt. Diablo or the relatively tame wilderness of the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley (one-third of its collection is California natives!) One gem not to be missed, though, is Sunol Regional Wilderness near Fremont. As you wander among unparalleled displays of California poppies (below) and buttercups, you'll be joined by grazing cows on the emerald hills and soaring hawks above. Their spring wildflower festival is April 12. Plus, while you're there, you might as well make a day of it.

Readers: There are so many breathtaking wildflower spots in the Bay Area — and beyond. Where are your favorites? Leave a comment below.

Comments

[west bremerton florist]

stunning flowers!