Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Spring brings May gray, Coastal wildflowers blooming

"Our Lord's Candle" and Mojave Yucca continue to bloom

California poppies are generally shades of yellow or orange in the wild, but growers have created them in whites and shades of red.
California poppies are generally shades of yellow or orange in the wild, but growers have created them in whites and shades of red.

The Coastal Wildflower Bloom, a fine one on account of lots of rain and sunshine, will continue through April. One of the best spots for viewing a great variety of flowers is Torrey Pines State Reserve. San Onofre State Beach, just north of Camp Pendleton, should have acres and acres of monkeyflower, in a half-dozen different shades, blooming on the coastal bluffs. On grassy hillsides in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and in Mission Trails Regional Park (especially in the “grasslands” behind the Old Mission Dam), you might find carpets of California poppies, purple nightshade, pinkish owl’s clover, blue-colored lupine, and scattered splashes of color from a dozen or more other species of wildflowers. North County residents should check out the huge Daley Ranch preserve in northeast Escondido. Its rolling hillsides and grassy meadows should sport an impressive display of wildflowers by mid-April.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Mojave Yucca is a member of the Agave family and grows from the coast to the desert, from sea level to 8,200 feet.

Yuccas of two varieties are in bloom in San Diego County from now through May. Year after year, the Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera) sends up a blunt flower stalk of white, waxy blossoms from the same base -- a rosette of daggerlike leaves. The shimmering white exclamation point that unfolds above “Our Lord’s Candle” (Yucca whipplei), on the other hand, is a prelude to the plant’s imminent death. Mojave yucca is widely distributed along San Diego County’s coastal strip and throughout the higher elevations of the Anza-Borrego Desert. Our Lord’s Candle prefers the scrubby coastal foothills and the drier slopes of the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna mountains. The two yuccas coexist with each other in a few areas like Torrey Pines State Reserve and Anza-Borrego’s Culp Valley area.

Less Rain, warmer temperatures, and hazier skies coincide with the subtle onset of San Diego’s spring season. By April’s end, the alternating periods of rainfall and crystal-clear skies we’ve been having will likely be distant memories. The nocturnal, low overcast starting to hug the coast right about now will gradually build into “May Gray” and “June Gloom”— days-long episodes of perpetual overcast that can dog us through the late spring.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Fiesta de Reyes Dia de los Muertos, Summer Salt and The Symposium, Scream Diego

Events October 10-October 12, 2024
California poppies are generally shades of yellow or orange in the wild, but growers have created them in whites and shades of red.
California poppies are generally shades of yellow or orange in the wild, but growers have created them in whites and shades of red.

The Coastal Wildflower Bloom, a fine one on account of lots of rain and sunshine, will continue through April. One of the best spots for viewing a great variety of flowers is Torrey Pines State Reserve. San Onofre State Beach, just north of Camp Pendleton, should have acres and acres of monkeyflower, in a half-dozen different shades, blooming on the coastal bluffs. On grassy hillsides in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and in Mission Trails Regional Park (especially in the “grasslands” behind the Old Mission Dam), you might find carpets of California poppies, purple nightshade, pinkish owl’s clover, blue-colored lupine, and scattered splashes of color from a dozen or more other species of wildflowers. North County residents should check out the huge Daley Ranch preserve in northeast Escondido. Its rolling hillsides and grassy meadows should sport an impressive display of wildflowers by mid-April.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Mojave Yucca is a member of the Agave family and grows from the coast to the desert, from sea level to 8,200 feet.

Yuccas of two varieties are in bloom in San Diego County from now through May. Year after year, the Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera) sends up a blunt flower stalk of white, waxy blossoms from the same base -- a rosette of daggerlike leaves. The shimmering white exclamation point that unfolds above “Our Lord’s Candle” (Yucca whipplei), on the other hand, is a prelude to the plant’s imminent death. Mojave yucca is widely distributed along San Diego County’s coastal strip and throughout the higher elevations of the Anza-Borrego Desert. Our Lord’s Candle prefers the scrubby coastal foothills and the drier slopes of the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna mountains. The two yuccas coexist with each other in a few areas like Torrey Pines State Reserve and Anza-Borrego’s Culp Valley area.

Less Rain, warmer temperatures, and hazier skies coincide with the subtle onset of San Diego’s spring season. By April’s end, the alternating periods of rainfall and crystal-clear skies we’ve been having will likely be distant memories. The nocturnal, low overcast starting to hug the coast right about now will gradually build into “May Gray” and “June Gloom”— days-long episodes of perpetual overcast that can dog us through the late spring.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Codename Stasis found its format at SDSU

Local zine tells a magical local story
Next Article

Our riparian woodland begins to look like fall, Orb Weavers help decorate

Comet of the century?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader