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Recent showers might have saved wild blossoms
| Thursday, Feb 15 2007 9:50 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Feb 15 2007 10:48 PM
The recent rainfall may have saved the wildflower bloom.
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Yellow wildflowers swirl around in the light wind off Cottonwood Road near East Panama Lane.
Showers in the past week have generated new hope for a colorful showing this spring season, which until now was predicted to be lackluster.
"Until this last spate of storms we didn't expect to have a (wildflower) season at all," said Alison Sheehey, outreach director for the Kern River Preserve.
A few more drizzly storms and the bloom should arrive by mid-March to early April, she said.
The lack of rain this winter caused concern that wildflowers may not blossom at all this year. As of Thursday, just 1.69 inches of rain had fallen in the Bakersfield area since July 1, and about one-third of that total fell in the past week. The average rainfall by this time of year is 3.62 inches, according to National Weather Service data.
A few wildflower blossoms have recently been spotted in the lower Kern Canyon and spotty patches of flowers in Death Valley National Park have been reported, according to Athena Cole, a Death Valley parks guide.
But the Carrizo Plain National Monument -- which has seen just 1.5 inches of rain since last spring -- is pretty bare.
"We have nothing. We don't even have green grass," said Jackie Czapla, a volunteer with the monument's Guy L. Goodwin Education Center.
If this year's display is less than spectacular it will come as no surprise to the experts. A great wildflower season happens only once every 10 years or so, they said.
"It's like the surprise at the bottom of a cereal box," said Sheehey, with the Kern River Preserve. "Sometimes you get a good prize and other times you get squat."
Several Web sites and hot lines help take the guesswork out of finding wildflower blooms. Here’s where to go for the latest info:
• The Kern County Board of Trade operates a wildflower hot line: 322-WILD
• Alison Sheehey’s Web site includes a 2007 wildflower report as well as a list of dates and locations for wildflower blooms: www.natureali.org.
• Death Valley National Park posts regular wildflower updates online: www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/wildflowers.htm
• The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants also operates a hot line from March through May: (818) 768-3533