Being that it’s nearly spring, I decided to check on the progress of this year’s wildflowers. I figured the back of a motorcycle was a good way to get up close and personal with the backroads of our rolling hills.
Outfitted in my riding suit, I looked more like a stormtrooper out of Star Wars than a gentle gardener but safety comes first. So off I rode, heading down Highway 1 recently on a beautiful sunny day.
Outside Watsonville, I rode past strawberries so ripe and red you could see them from the road, then over towards San Juan Bautista, where the apricot and walnut trees are getting ready to blossom.
After lunch on the plant-filled patio at Jardines de San Juan, I rode out of town. The real treat came while riding Highway 25 — which is the gateway to the Pinnacles National Monument. Although the rains have not been nearly enough for the year, they have been generous enough to carpet the hillsides with wildflowers.
Vast fields of rich blue annual lupine bloomed below patches of golden poppies covering the hills. Large expanses of acid-yellow wild mustard swayed in the breeze.
Coreopsis, fiddlenecks, and thousands of small, ground-hugging wildflowers completed the scene.
The weather was warm and perfect for a wildflower outing and two female elk crossing the road could not have agreed more.
But there was more adventure to come. On I rode down to Priest Valley on Highway 198. Arriving at sunset at Strohn Rocking 7 Ranch, I first observed a flowering cherry besieged with small moths.
Interesting in itself, it was the bats that came out to swoop up the moths for dinner that fascinated me. This historic 160-acre property is nestled in the Diablo Mountain range of southeast Monterey County and was one of the original homesteads that operated as a pump station when the oil fields of Coalinga were first established and the pipeline extended to the coast along this route.
The animals were penned up to protect them from bobcats, coyote, mountain lions, and other predators at night. But, come morning they are fed and most get to free range for the day. All except the peacock and guinea fowl who won’t come in for their own good.
The rest of the menagerie including two alpacas, several wild turkeys, chickens, a herd of African pygmy goats, a dozen Indian runner ducks, and two French geese enjoy the grasses growing around the ranch.
A wild pheasant comes and goes as he pleases but roosts at sunset in the tall trees. Cottontail rabbits scurried everywhere along with some baby bunnies looking longingly at the garden and ornamental plants that were protected by chicken wire.
I was sorry to leave the ranch and all its inhabitants, but had heard that Jolon Road west of King City had good wildflower potential.
Bisecting Fort Hunter Liggett, the area has been mostly protected from ranch and farming activity and still boasts oak tree forests. Either it was too early for a good wildflower display or winter rains have not been adequate, so I headed on Nacimiento-Ferguson Road up and over the Santa Lucia range to the coast.
This is one of the most gorgeous drives on the Central Coast as the roller coaster road passes the Nacimiento River and ends with breathtaking views of the Pacific. Lots of California poppies decorated the roadside.
I’m looking forward to more wildflower adventures next month. We live in such an awesome and gentle place.
– Jan Nelson, a landscape designer and California certified nursery professional, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. E-mail her at ja******@ao*.com, or visit www.jannelsonlandscapedesign.com to view past columns and pictures.
