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- Where to stop and smell the wildflowers in California.
- California businesses are reeling from Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs.
- What happens when a tennis fan plays at every tennis court in Los Angeles? He discovers a slew of favorites.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
Where to stop and smell the wildflowers in California
The rain has subsided and it’s finally time to visit colorful wildflower displays across the region.
But uneven rain patterns across the state mean the wildflower situation will be inconsistent. Northern California, which got more rain than usual, will see big superblooms. In Southern California, not so much. But there are still flower-viewing options.
The flower fields need a good soaking in the winter to germinate, my colleague Jeanette Marantos wrote in her plants newsletter.
That’s not what happened this rainy season. Downtown L.A. has received 6.55 inches of rain since the water year began Oct. 1. That is below the average for this point in the water season, 11.88 inches.
That means we’re unlikely to see large-scale blooms.
“Wildflowers need three things to give us a copious spring bloom — seeds in the ground, plenty of moisture and a few weeks of mild, cool temperatures in the 60s and low 70s,” botanist Naomi Fraga told Jeanette.
Just because poppies won’t blanket our hills like in previous years, doesn’t mean there won’t be beautiful flowers to admire across the state.
Other perennial native plants such as monkey flowers, phlox, sages, buckwheats and manzanitas will be in bloom. Here’s how you can find them.
Call the Wild Flower Hotline, which provides free weekly updates on the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California.
Visit your local botanical garden. California Botanic Garden in Claremont, the state’s largest botanic garden devoted to California native plants, and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, the second largest, are great options.
California Botanic Garden is hosting a free Native Plant Festival on March 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to highlight the beauty, variety and resiliency of the state’s native ecosystems.
Drive to see the Turkish flower fields. Farther south near San Diego, the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch boast 55 acres of ranunculus flowers that typically bloom for six to eight weeks.
Ranunculus flowers, also known as Persian buttercups, are native to Turkey but have been grown along the northern San Diego County coast for at least 90 years, Times reporter Christopher Reynolds wrote.
Through Mother’s Day, experience the magical ranunculus fields of bright pink, orange, yellow and white flowers at the ranch while also enjoying a 300-feet-by-170-feet American flag made from red, white and blue petunias; a 5-acre “sea of sunflowers;” and greenhouse displays of poinsettias and Cymbidium orchids.
The real superblooms, though, can be found in Northern California where rainfall has been above average all winter, setting the stage for a spring season of stunning wildflower superblooms.
The week’s biggest stories
California businesses are reeling from Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs
- From farmers to automakers to tech companies, businesses of all kinds are trying to navigate through President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico.
- As tariffs take effect, farmers fear retaliation from other countries will impede their exports and drive up costs of production.
In Altadena and Pacific Palisades, burned lots are hitting the market
- Residents who lost their homes to fire are increasingly deciding to sell their lots, not wanting to undergo the rebuilding process.
- The developer influx could help communities build back quicker. But it’s also raising fears about gentrification and whether longtime owners are getting a fair price, especially in middle-class Altadena.
- Meanwhile, victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires turn on State Farm.
Tesla drivers are pushing back on Elon Musk
- Many Tesla drivers are no longer happy about supporting the car brand as Musk plays a prominent role in the Trump administration.
- The sense of dissatisfaction comes as Tesla sales declined for the first time in the company’s history last year.
Federal lawmakers are calling on the Trump administration to nix a plan to shoot 450,000 owls, citing cost
- A bipartisan group of lawmakers want to cancel a controversial plan to kill up to nearly half a million barred owls to protect the vulnerable northern spotted owl, saying the cost could top $1 billion.
- Supporters of the plan say it’s needed to prevent the extinction of the spotted owl, which is being pushed out of its habitat by barred owls.
More big stories
- LAPD cops shot 21 bystanders in 10 years. How does it keep happening?
- Water officials knew that opening dams to meet President Trump’s wishes was ill-advised. Here’s why it happened anyway.
- Trump’s dismantling of the Education Department puts student loan services, civil rights enforcement and funding for disadvantaged students in limbo.
- With Mayor Karen Bass facing a recall threat, her supporters are going after billionaires.
- The cost of healthcare for undocumented California residents is billions over estimates, putting pressure on Democrats to consider cuts.
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This week’s must reads
What do the dead have to say to the living?
The Life After Life Club in an Orange County retirement community explores trance channeling, the power of animal communication and near-death experiences. It recently hosted a psychic.
More great reads
- The Palisades fire could have destroyed the Getty’s irreplaceable art. Our art critic asks, Should the museum move?
- Juvenile great whites, some as long as 9 feet, routinely cruise among Southern California swimmers and surfers with no apparent interest, researchers say.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].
For your weekend
Going out
- 🌆 Joan Didion made her mark on L.A. Here are 10 places she knew and loved.
- 💪 The Ozempic workout? Here’s how gyms and trainers are catering to a new group of exercisers.
- 🎾 What happens when a tennis fan plays at every tennis court in Los Angeles? He discovers a slew of favorites.
- 🍴 Here are 10 great halal restaurants in L.A. to break fast during Ramadan.
Staying in
- ⚽ “Ted Lasso” is officially returning for Season 4.
- 🪷 Watching “The White Lotus”? You can find analysis, recaps and deep dives from The Times as viewers guess who gets killed and who did the killing.
- 🤠 The prolific country-music singer and songwriter Charley Crockett is about to make his major-label debut — with his 15th album.
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for slow-roasted salmon with dill and lemon salsa verde.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, Sudoku, word search and arcade games.
How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.
Lady Gaga’s new album, “Mayhem,” comes just about a month before she’s set to headline which California desert music festival? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
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