Freeways brightened by daisies, Vernal Equinox on Sunday

African Daisies are bursting into bloom around San Diego, especially along the freeway embankments. The name refers to a wide variety of species belonging to the genuses Arctotis, Dimorphotheca, and Osteospermum, with flowers ranging in color from yellow, orange, and white to purple. These hardy ground covers require little water except when in active growth, and help to hold soil in place during heavy rains.

Vernal Equinox on Sunday, March 20 heralds the beginning of the spring season for Earth’s northern hemisphere. At the instant of vernal equinox, the sun lies in the plane of Earth’s equator. As a consequence, days and nights are of equal length (12 hours each) everywhere on our planet. Another consequence is that the sun rises due east along the horizon and sets due west. During the next three months, as the sun shines more and more directly on our hemisphere, daylight hours will lengthen and the rise and set positions of the sun will gradually shift toward the northeast and northwest, respectively.

India Hawthorn, one of the most common flowering shrubs used in landscaping as a hedge and divider in San Diego, is blooming best right about now. The plant, which has several varieties, covers itself with blossoms ranging in hue from pinkish white to vivid pink.

Highest Tide this month, a fairly moderate +6.59 feet, occurs at 9:07 am on Monday, March 20. Lowest tide is -1.48 feet at 3:04 pm on Sunday, the 19th. A great time for making tidepool discoveries. These low tides mark the end of a months-long series of extreme low tides occurring during afternoon hours. For the next several months, extreme low tides will occur only in the early-morning hours.