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AREA MAPS
1925 Kern Wildflower Postcard
May 5, 2008
It has been a while since I updated the sightings. It isn't because
the area is devoid of flowers, just it has been a busy month
planning the Spring Nature Festival. The good news is there are
still many areas of wildflowers around the county.
The lower Kern River Canyon is full of pink washes of Farewell to
Spring (Clarkia cylindrica, Clarkia unguiculata and Clarkia
xantiana). The rocks along Hwy 178 in the canyon are awash with
yellow and gold with bush monkeyflower, yarrow, golden yarrow,
narrow-leaved goldenbush, and brittlebush in bloom. Although it is
dry wildflowers are still blooming here and there. Many mountain
locations still have snow so the higher elevations should be really
great in July.
March 29 2008
Took a
drive to the western slopes of the Sierra. My route took me along
Highway 155 from the Kern River Valley to Glennville, down Granite
Road to Woody/Granite Road to Woody Road and back to Granite Road.
Some
gorgeous displays of fiddleneck, gilia, popcorn flower, and
goldfields grace the oak woodland along these roads. The best
displays are between Glenville and Woody/Granite Road along Granite
Road and also the entire stretch of Woody/Granite Road. Woody Road
has some really nice swaths of color but is pretty much past peak.
There are some pretty patches of wind poppy on the roadside.
Highway
178 in the Kern Canyon appeared to have lots of wildflowers at the
entrance, but I was looking at the slopes past sunset, hard to
determine how good it actually is. Reports have been good from
friends.
The Kern
River Valley still retains orange on the upper slopes. Poppy and
Coreopsis are persisting with the cool weather. Wind is a problem.
Today there is a storm that looks to have some moisture so the
display may rebound. Along Sierra Way the Lacy Phacelia display is
pretty amazing though some areas are past prime, other areas have
entire slopes covered with this lavender flower. Gilia remains the
biggest component of the slopes near Kernville. Don't just look at
the phacelia or gilia but get out and take in the amazing delicate
fragrance of the blossoms.
March 22 2008
Thirteen
people joined a tour up Sierra Way from the Kern River Preserve to
above Riverkern. The hills of the Kern River Preserve at the Sierra
Way bridge are full of globe gilia and spider lupine with
smatterings of other plants. Along the Migrant Corner trail find red
maids, Bigelow's coreopsis, Fremont's pincushion, brown-eyed
primrose, checker fiddleneck, California poppy, popcorn flower,
cream cups, floriferous monkeyflower, blue dicks, miniature lupine,
bishop's lotus, caterpillar phacelia, slender keel fruit, scale bud,
silver bird's foot trefoil.
Further
up the road the hills become alive with lacy phacelia. Above the
lake between Camp 9 and Stine Cove the entire slope is purple with a
mass of these flowers. Go quickly as they are drying out. The sweet
scent is intoxicating.
March 15 2008
Today, with friends Don and Sandra in tow after a morning of upland
restoration, we ventured out to the Kern River Preserve's migrant
corner and Kelso Valley.
In the uplands of the Kern River Preserve's Sprague Ranch unit, we
found man-root, popcorn flower, owl's clover, annual wooly
sunflower, white layia, Bigelow's coreopsis, goldfields, checker
fiddleneck, herb sophia, hoary-podded lens cress, London rocket,
slender keel fruit, Bishop's lotus, miniature lupine, red-stemmed
filaree, Fremont's phacelia, white fiesta flower, fiesta flower,
common henbit, hill suncup, California poppy, golden poppy, slender
gilia, showy gilia, slender phlox and blue dicks.
Then at migrant corner on Sierra Way, we found the entire hillside
full of blooming flowers. More to come...
March 11 2008
Took a
trip to find the rare crowned muilla on Five Fingers at Indian
Wells. The hike to the top was long and fraught with blisters, but
the reward was worth it. My friend Shelley had told me about this
lovely rare plant blooming and then took me up to the location.
Along the way we found slopes full of blooming Fremont's phacelia
creating a beautiful purple mat. The area seemed quite dry yet many
species of flowers were blooming. We found the following plants in
bloom: desert paintbrush, California mustard, tansy mustard,
red-stemmed filaree, Fremont's phacelia, scale bud, Bishop lotus,
Mojave biscuitroot, Bigelow's coreopsis, slender keel fruit,
shredding primrose, brown-eyed primrose, checker fiddleneck, 3 types
of cryptantha, desert golden poppy, common phacelia, Cooper's jewel
flower, yellow comet, broad-flowered gilia, transmontane gilia,
golden trumpets and Joshua tree.
In
addition birds singing in the area were Rock Wren, Black-throated
Sparrow, and Sage Sparrow. Thanks to Shelly for encouraging this
very out of shape and reluctant hiker up the 1800-foot climb.
March 9 2008
Kelso
Valley Road has some nice displays of poppy and coreopsis up Short
Canyon. Along Kelso Creek the bloom continues to come on slowly.
Find a few Pringle's wooly sunflower blooming among the thousands of
green versions. There are more scale bud and Fremont's phacelia in
bloom along with California tansy mustard. The report was of frost
in this location again this morning so it will be a little while
longer before the bloom begins. It is looking quite dry along the
creek, I am hoping the soil doesn't dry out before the frosts end.
March 8 2008
Another
day, another adventure with my friend Terri. The wind was howling
but it didn't matter because the Kern River Valley has poppies! So
many of the hills are green with the orange and yellow frosting of
poppies and coreopsis. The best display of poppies is near the
northern boundary of Audubon's Kern River Preserve just north of the
South Fork bridge in Weldon. Almost the entire slope is full of
brilliant orange California poppies with an occasional mutant yellow
poppy thrown in for good measure. Along Sierra Way, between Weldon
and Kernville, many wonderful plants are in bloom. Along the road,
chia, scale bud, globe gilia, coreopsis, brown-eyed primrose, red maids, Bishop
lotus, spider lupine and miniature lupine get more abundant each
day.
Continuing along Sierra Way, tansy phacelia, slender keel fruit and
fiddleneck have greened the roadside and are beginning to add
beautiful color. Above both Stine and Robinson Coves the top of the
hills are golden with coreopsis and poppy.
Continue
further and popcorn flower begins to add white to the green grass.
Popcorn flowers just get better and better as you continue up the
north fork Kern River.
Right
near the airport there is a riot of yellow patty pan poppies.
Continue driving north on Sierra Way (which turns into Mtn. 99)
toward RiverKern and you'll notice the hills between Kernville and
Owens Boy's Camp are full of popcorn flower, goldfields and bird's
eye gilia. Just a few owl's clover are blooming all along the road,
but I suspect in a week or so this now white, yellow and pale blue
hill will be graced with a pink hue as well. During yesterday's
adventure, we also found yellow comet, baby blue eyes, California
mustard, false gilia, Pringle's wooly sunflower, hill suncup,
Coulter's jewelflower, tansy mustard, miner's lettuce, biscuitroot,
blue dicks, pepperweed, filaree, and pitted onion in bloom.
I think
the poppies are peaking but the rest of the show is a little way
off. Nights remain at or near freezing so many plants won't bloom
until the temperatures stay 40ºF or above for a few nights running.
March 2 2008
On
Sunday, I picked up my friend Terri and we took the loop around the
reservoir, our first stop was to check the Lake Isabella Visitor
Center off Hwy 155. We found a few Baby Blue Eyes and Red Maids. The
hills are green enough, just the nights still remain near freezing
so the growth is slow. Across the road at Keyesville South, a few
more baby blue eyes and the very tiny Slender Phlox were blooming. Keyesville itself is very green and has a few popcorn flower in
bloom, but nothing else yet. We continued on to a private home in
Wofford Heights, many Wild Hyacinth were blooming on the hillsides
along with many Slender Keel Fruit. Red Maids were quite numerous
along the hill sides. Near Kernville across the street from the golf
course we came upon the first wonderfully blooming hillside. Popcorn
flower, Bigelow's Coreopsis, California Poppy, Bishop's Lotus and
Miniature Lupine are blooming beautifully even though the hillside
looks nowhere near peak. Continuing to Sierra Way, the bloom is just
beginning for most plants except California Poppy which grows more
like a wildfire of orange across the slopes from Camp Nine all the
way to the Kern River Preserve. Plants in bloom along the roadside
include: Slender Keel Fruit, Bishop Lotus, California Poppy, Tansy Phacelia, Chia,
Thistle Sage, Bigelow's Coreopsis, Spider Lupine, Oak Gooseberry,
Globe Gilia, Peppergrass, Cryptantha, Wild Hyacinth, and Red Maids.
March 1 2008
I took a
trip with my friends Holly and Sandra out Kelso Valley Road. The
Kelso Creek area is still early, lots of vegetation, but few flowers
so far. I did find tansy mustard and many Fremont phacelia in bloom
with just one scale bud blooming so far. Then we continued on toward
Butterbredt Spring Wildlife Sanctuary. Too bad the bad apple
motorcyclists are really trashing the beauty of the area, but
fortunately the sanctuary is fenced and intact. On Butterbredt
Springs Road they have placed huge waterbars that may be a problem
for all but high clearance vehicles. On the drive down find
Brown-eyed Primrose, Chia, Coreopsis, and Pygmy Golden Poppy in
bloom. At the sanctuary itself, find a really nice display above the
wash of Fremont Phacelia, Scale Bud, Slender Keel Fruit, Checker
Fiddleneck, Pringle's Wooly Sunflower, Fremont's Pincushion,
threadleaf ragwort, Branching Phacelia, Tumbling Mustard, California
Mustard, Broad-flowered gilia, White Fiesta Flower, Cushion
Cryptantha, Purple Root Forget-me-not, White tidy tips, Mojave
suncup, Common Woolly Sunflower, western tansymustard, Red-stemmed
Filaree, and Coulter's Jewelflower.
February 27 2008
It has
begun. Sierra Way in the Kern River Valley has begun to explode with
color. Mostly California Poppy but other flowers are blooming as
well. I just checked the area where the Kern River Preserve is
bisected by Sierra Way and found the following in bloom north of the
bridge and granite road cut: Globe Gilia, California Poppy, Red
Maids, Chia, Bentham's Lupine, Red-stemmed Filaree, Bigelow's
Coreopsis, Bishop's Lotus, Checker Fiddleneck and plants that should
be in bloom by this weekend include, Brown-eyed Evening Primrose,
Scale Bud, and Thistle Sage.
February 25 2008
With
continuing storms, the hills around the Kern River Valley are green
for the first time in a few years. While I had expected more flowers
to Sierra Way has a few filaree and poppies blooming, next week with
few storms and nights predicted to be above freezing look for all of
the green to blossom into carpets of different color. Reports from
Anza Borrego State Park in San Diego County are looking good and
Death Valley National Park is reported to have a good carpet of
Desert Gold. I found Fremont's Phacelia, California Poppy,
Red-stemmed Filaree, Tumbling Mustard and Tansy Mustard.
February 5 2008
The
rains have arrived and it looks to be a nice season for the San
Joaquin Valley and Kern River Valley. The desert has been
unfortunately drier than needed for a good flower display. The next
week is predicted to be dry with a warming trend, I expect the first
wildflowers of the season to pop up by the end of the week.
Some Places to Look and what to Look for
All depend on sufficient spring rain and mild temperatures
KERN VALLEY DESERT
KELSO VALLEY
KERN CANYON
NORTH FORK KERN
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
SAN LUIS OBISPO
SIERRA NEVADA
SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS
KERN VALLEY - Kern County
Lake Isabella
Visitor Center @ Hwy 155: February - Mid April
baby
blue eyes, blue
dicks, cream cups, cushion catseye, fiddleneck, goldfields, hill sun
cup, owl's clover, popcorn flower, red maids, spreading fleabane,
filaree, slender keel fruit
Sierra
Way between Kernville and Weldon (Hwy 178): Late February - Late
March
bird's eye gilia, blue dicks, brown-eyed evening primrose,
California poppy, caterpillar phacelia, chia, coreopsis, deer vetch, encelia,
evening snow, fiddleneck, globe gilia, goldenbush, goldfields,
Kernville poppy, miniature lupine, mustards, owl's clover, popcorn
flower, stick leaf, filaree, thistle sage, slender keel
fruit,
white fiesta flower, deer vetch
Kernville to Wofford Heights: Early March - Early April
bird's eye
gilia, Coulter's jewelflower, rock cress,
Indian paintbrush, wild hyacinth, popcorn flower, and deer
vetch
DESERT - Kern & Inyo Counties
Walker Pass to Hwy 14:
Later February to Late March
Joshua tree, phacelia, Mojave sun cup, brittlebush
Hwy 14 to Short Canyon: Early March - Mid March
desert chicory, desert dandelions, phacelia, desert mallow
Short Canyon: Late February - early April
alyssum,
arroyo lupine, bajada lupine, bird's eye gilia, birds foot evening
primrose, bladder pod, blazing star, blue dicks, brittlebush,
brown-eyed Primrose, California poppy,
caterpillar phacelia, Charlotte's phacelia, chia, coreopsis, cream
cups, desert chicory, desert dandelion, desert mallow, desert
paintbrush, desert primrose, elegant lupine, Fiddleneck, four-wing saltbush, goldenbush,
golden poppy, golden linanthus, goldfields, grape soda lupine,
Indian paint brush, inflated buckwheat, iodine bush, Joshua tree, jewelflower, lacy phacelia,
miniature lupine, Mojave evening primrose, Mojave sun cups, nude
buckwheat, Parry's larkspur, pepper grass, pincushion, purple mat, popcorn flower,
sage thistle, sand verbena, spectacle pod,
tansy phacelia, yellowthroats, white fiesta flower
Red Rock Canyon
State Park: March
coreopsis, sun cups, primrose, goldfields
Death
Valley National Park: January - early April
Panamint catseye, brown-eyed evening primrose,
desert gold, creosote, and sand verbena.
KELSO VALLEY
Kelso Creek: Early
March - Early May
Bigelow's monkeyflower,
bird's eye gilia, desert dandelion, desert star, Fremont's
phacelia, goldfields, Joshua tree, Kelso Creek monkeyflower, Mojave
sun cup, Pringle's wooly sunflower, purple mat, pygmy poppy,
sandblossoms, silver cholla, sinuate gilia,
filaree, white layia, white tidy tips,
Jawbone Canyon (east
slope of the Piute Mountains): Late March - Early April baby
blue eyes, California poppy, locoweed, miniature lupine, popcorn flower.
KERN CANYON
Hwy 178: Early March
- Mid May
baby blue eyes, bindweed, bladderpod,
California poppy, coreopsis, Coulter's jewelflower, fiddleneck,
gilia, lupine,
miner's lettuce, mustard, owl's clover, popcorn flower, Bermuda
buttercup
NORTH FORK KERN - Kern & Tulare
Counties
Mtn 99: (north of Kernville Kern and Tulare Counties):
Mid April - Late May
bajada lupine, bush monkeyflower, California
Yerba Santa, common monkeyflower, death camas, dudleya, fiesta
flower,
fleabane, golden violets, golden poppies, granite monkeyflower,
grape soda lupine, Ithuriel's spear, Kern
County larkspur, phacelia, popcorn flower, red maids, western wallflower,
wooly pod
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY -
Kern & Tulare Counties
Hwy. 99: early - mid February
stone fruit orchards
Rancheria Road: Early March
blue dicks, California poppy, fiddleneck, lupines, popcorn flower
Northeast Bakersfield: Early March
blue dicks, owl's clover, phacelia
Bena Road - east of Bakersfield:
Early March
bladderepod, California
poppy, chia, fiddleneck, locoweed, lupine, owl's clover, phacelia,
popcorn flower, white tidy tips
Caliente Creek Road:
Early March
lupine, fiddleneck
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
Carrizo Plain National Monument: early February - late April
fiddleneck, filaree, tidy tips, thistle sage, owl's
clover, encelia, eriophyllum, parry's mallow, unexpected larkspur
Shell Creek Road: February - Late March
lupine, owl's clover, gilia, yellow blazing star, common tidy tips,
sierra tidy tips, pale yellow layia, desert dandelion, goldfields,
grassland suncup, California evening primrose, Parry's mallow,
scarlet buglar, branched Indian clover, white-tipped clover, tomcat
clover, cows clover, yellow sweetclover, bur clover, bishop's lotus,
redstem filaree, broad-leaf filaree, chaparral nightshade,
fiddleneck, popcorn flower, forget-me-not, chia, thistle sage,
Indian paint brush, linear leaved goldenbush, yellow yarrow,
divaricate phacelia, blue dicks, California
poppy, freckled milkvetch, baby blue eyes, desert pincushion, yellow
pincushion.
SIERRA NEVADA - Kern & Tulare
Counties
Sherman Pass Road: Early May - Mid July
blue dicks, columbine, death camas, golden ear drops, Monardellas, shooting stars
Nine-mile Canyon Road (Hwy 14. to Kennedy Meadows): mid May -
mid June
grape
soda lupine, pink gilia
Cherry Hill Road:
Sequoia National
Forest: Mid June - Late August
butterfly mariposa
lily, lupine,
mountain collomia, harlequin monkeyflower, pink gilia, phacelia,
monkeyflower, Indian
paintbrush, clover, lotus, tinctureplant, snow plant, crimson columbine, mountain blue bells, Parry's
larkspur, cinquefoil, shooting stars, wild onions, blue-eyed marys,
knotweed
Piute Mountains:
Sequoia National Forest: early June - mid July
brodiaea, desert calico, Horkelias, mariposa lily, monkeyflowers, milkweeds, Monardellas,
Palmer's mariposa lily, penstemon, phacelia, Spanish bayonet, vetch
SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS - Kern &
Los Angeles Counties
Antelope Valley Poppy
Preserve: mid March - late April California poppy,
coreopsis, cream cups, Davy gilia, fiddleneck, globe gilia, golden
carpet, goldfields, paintbrush, lupine, phacelia, thistle sage,
yellow throats |
