Los Angeles in Bloom

Don't believe what they say about southern California and the seasons; Los Angeles has seasons, and they're very much marked by the flowers visible almost everywhere you look. You'd never know you were in a dessert. Spring is heralded by the appearance first of the Coral trees (especially along San Vicente Boulevard). Coral Trees or Erythrina are the official tree of Los Angeles. Their blooms are soon followed by the Jacarandas and Bottle Brush (Callistemon) trees blooming. CallistemonThese trees are permanent residents now, but none are native plants. You'll see Magolias with a few blooms all year round, but they burst into full bloom in the summer, as do Paradise Vine and vivid purple hybrid Clematis and Morning Glory and Passion Fruit vines. Passion fruit vineSeveral varieties of Jasmin mark the late spring and early summer, and scent the air especially at dawn and dusk. There are houses that are almost consumed by the giant Bougainvillea vines, in pink or scarlet, Wisteria, and Honeysuckle. Roses thrive in Los Angeles, and most roses bloom at least twice, once in June and again in the fall. December is welcomed by gorgeous Camelias, everywhere, in pink and rose and raspberry. Plants that are houseplants elsewhere in Southern California bloom in people's yards. You'll see shrub-sized Jade plants, Bird of Paradise and Fuchsia bushes, even hedges, in people's yards.

There are florists all over Los Angeles, including street corners, but your best bets for lovely fresh cut flowers are the farmers markets, and, even better, the Los Angeles Flower District. The Flower District is a giant oudoors flower market in downtown L.A. that has everything that's at all associated with flowers, including wholesalers and direct to customer growers. The Flower District is two blocks of all things flowers, on Wall Street between 7th and 8th streets. Even if you're not going to buy, strolling through the ranks of flower vendors is a lovely way to spend the morning, and it's quite likely you'll end up going home with large bunches of amazing flower bargains. If you're a consumer, you need to check the hours first, and be prepared to pay a dollar or two for admission, but it's well worth the money just to look.

Don't miss the Huntington Library and Gardens. The Huntington is in the tiny city of San Marino, near Pasadena. It's a single ticket admission for both the Library and museum and the many gardens on 120 acres of landscaped grounds. You'll want to spend several hours, if not an entire day. UCLA has two botanical gardens, both worth visiting; the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical garden and the UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden. And in May and June the UCLA campus, especially the Sculpture Garden, almost explodes with Jacarandas. For an idea of the variety of cultivated plants and wild flowers in Southern California, and the sorts of plants you''l see at botanical gardens, see Michael L. Charter's site Wildflowers and Other Plants of Southern California and the Dr. Barbara Collins' Garden Flowers of Southern California.