Welcome to the Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wild Flower Hotline. I’m Tom Henschel. The Hotline offers weekly on-line and recorded updates on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California. All locations are on easily accessible public lands and range from urban to wild, distant to right here in L.A.
Let’s stay close to home this week. These are easy trails with lots of shade or coastal breezes.
Will Rogers State Historic Park in the Santa Monica Mountains is an extremely dynamic landscape now after the Palisades fire and winter’s heavy rainfall. Park staff are working hard to make trails affected by the burn and subsequent wash outs safe again. Please obey all closures to protect yourselves and park staff. You’ll find most wildflowers are blooming along the main Inspiration Loop Trail. Upon setting foot in the park, you will see that nature is working its magic to heal the landscape and ecological succession is well on its way. Shades of yellow and gold dominate the recovering landscape with California bush sunflower, bush poppy, deerweed, sticky monkeyflower, golden yarrow, canyon sunflower, coastal lotus, Chaparral lotus and the prolific, common fire-follower, whispering bells. Blue, purple, and pink flowers are scattered throughout this yellow palette and include giant flowered phacelia, sticky phacelia, stinging lupine, blue dicks, Braunton's milk vetch, and purple nightshade. A few pink and white blossoms belonging to morning glory, cryptantha, cliff aster, and Catalina mariposa lily sprinkle the area as well. You will not find much shade following the fire so be sure to bring lots of water and wear sun protection. Be mindful and safe while hiking. 
Descanso Gardens located in La Cañada Flintridge is home to world-class botanical collections including the California Garden displaying a colorful diversity of our state’s native flora. At this time, visitors can view California poppies lining the pathways punctuated by firecracker red penstemon, purple nightshade and other native annuals and perennials. All are visible by walking along the paved roads winding through the Native Garden.
If you want to plant natives in your home garden, but first want a better understanding as to what the mature plants look like, explore the La Fetra Nature Education Garden at the Theodore Payne Foundation. Many popular natives are showing off their “spring bling” right now. The aptly named pink fairy duster, California bush sunflower, and Baja spurge are in full bloom. When you are ready to purchase plants, just walk to the nearby TPF sales yard to satisfy that irresistible urge. While there, check out the spectacular yellow cloud of blossoms on the blue palo verde tree. If you have time, take a little trek up the Wildflower Hill trail. You will be guided along the path by a trio of blue phacelias —— common phacelia, canterbury bells, and caterpillar phacelia. More blue flowers are to be seen on woolly blue curls, showy penstemon, blue dicks and chia.
Elysian Park is the oldest and one of the largest city parks in the LA municipal parks system. A place to see spring wildflowers is not the first thing visitors think of when they hear ‘Elysian Park’. It is better known as the home of Dodger Stadium or the place from which the iconic photos of downtown LA’s skyline are taken. However, the majority of the park’s hills and ravines are laced with trails that escort hikers, joggers, and cyclists through some picturesque plots filled with natural beauty and gorgeous views. On Elysian Park West Loop Trail dense patches of fiesta flower and Miner’s lettuce can be found in dense groupings along the moist north-facing sides of this relatively easy trail with lots of oak trees and other plants including monkeyflower, sticky phacelia, and others making cameos. Stop by the Elysian Park Test Plots at the top of the trail to see how a dedicated group of volunteers is planting native species in a former burn scar and on two sunny hillsides to bring back the bounty of CA flora. There are lots of wildflowers to see!
At the California Botanic Garden in Claremont, buds and blooms are in various stages of development throughout the 86-acre garden. The voluminous shades of blue provided by a diversity of ceanothus \are fading as April nears, as are the bright pink blossoms of California redbud. Warm yellows, golds, oranges, and reds of California brittlebush, California buttercup, desert marigold, sticky monkeyflower, desert globemallow, and California poppies are painting the landscape now. Blooms that occur together in large assemblages include lavender-blue Douglas iris, white cryptantha, pink and coral alumroot, and California blue-eyed grass make stunning displays as well.
That’s it for this week’s report. Visit the theodore payne dot org to see photos of these and more wildflower sites discussed this week. 
Don’t forget to buy your tickets for the Native Plant Garden Tour, taking place April 11th and 12th. Tickets are available online at store dot theodore payne dot org, in-store at Theodore Payne Foundation Sun Valley, or in-store at Los Nogales Nursery.
The next report will be available on Friday, March 27th.