Season’s Greetings : Early Blooming Wildflowers Herald the Arrival of Spring With Spectacular Display

The crazy colors of spring have come a month early this year. Nurtured by the abundant rainfall that has wreaked havoc among area commuters and canyon dwellers, the annual blooming of the wildflowers has dotted the hills and fields of Orange County with bright swathes of pink, yellow and orange.

“It’s providing quite a show,” said Trish Smith, an ecologist with the Nature Conservancy, which manages several of the county’s open-space areas. While the wildflowers usually bloom in mid-April, she said, “we’re peaking right now.”

Because of the fires that denuded much of the wilderness around Laguna Beach and other South County areas in 1993, Smith said, last year’s flower-blooming season was among the most prodigious and diverse in recent memory. In removing the usual cover of coastal sage scrub, biologists explained, the fire fertilized the soil with a rich mixture of ash and other nutrients while, at the same time, exposing the seed-rich earth to the life-giving rays of the sun.

This year’s bloom is not quite as colorful or diverse as last year’s, Smith said. According to local flower lovers, however, it’s still a good deal more spectacular than the average annual bloom.

“It’s a scattering of color,” said Gina Drury, a secretary at Ronald W. Caspers Regional Park off Ortega Highway, where many of the flowers can be seen. “It’s not like ‘The Wizard of Oz’; there aren’t fields of wildflowers that just dazzle the eye with color. You have to get out of your car. But if you’re willing to walk a bit, you can see lots of them.”

Other areas in which wildflowers are thriving include Laguna Coast Wilderness Park near Laguna Beach, Cleveland National Forest in North County and the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon.

This year’s most abundant flowers, Smith said, include buttercups (small yellow flowers), shooting stars (purple and white flowers) and chaparral peas (climbing vines with deep-pink flowers).

Other common wildflowers, she said, include the wild hyacinth, Johnny-jump-up, Indian paintbrush, morning glory, lupine and orange bush monkey flower. And over at Caspers, Drury said, visitors have reported seeing California bells, popcorn flowers, Our Lord’s candles, fiddlenecks, blue-eyed grass, prickly phlox and wild lilies.

Because pollen from wildflowers is spread primarily by bees, it poses little threat to people who suffer from allergies such as hay fever, doctors said.

“The most beautiful flowers generally cause the least amount of trouble,” said Dr. Leo Cummins, an allergist practicing in Orange. “And right now isn’t a bad time anyway, because it’s been raining and the rain clears the air.”

Both Caspers and Laguna Coast Wilderness Park offer guided wildflower nature walks each weekend, according to officials. Those wishing to tour the Laguna park should call (714) 854-7108 or (714) 832-7478 for reservations. Visitors to Caspers, who must be at least 18 years old, can just show up any Saturday or Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Smith said that people touring the wildflowers on their own should follow a few simple rules: Stay on the trails, don’t trample or pick any flowers and avoid poison oak.

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Growing Wild Relentless winter rains have produced a profusion of spring wildflowers in several areas around the county. To preserve the blooms, hikers should stay on trails and not pick or eat any of the specimens. Prime viewing spots include: 1. Cleveland National Forest 2. Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon. 3. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. 4. Ronald W. Caspers Regional Park.