Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve, California | French Californian

The Flower Fields of Southern California

There was a lot of talk this spring about the “Superbloom” here in California. The state had suffered through a pretty extreme drought for the past decade, but this year, thanks to all the rain, things started to GROW again! Some of the hills around my home were actually GREEN and wildflowers were popping up everywhere – things didn’t look so dry and depressing anymore!

That springtime vibrancy didn’t last long enough though. Now that summer is setting in, the hills have more or less gone back to their neutral tones. The climate in Southern California is quite arid, making it a great place for succulents and cactus, but not exactly ideal for delicate flowers.

Even though the tulip fields of Holland and the flower markets of Paris are a far cry from anything you’ll find here in California, I decided to make the  most of what we have and seek out some blooms close to home. The two places I visited were the Poppy Fields in the Antelope Valley and the Ranunculus Flower Fields in Carlsbad.

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Daydreams of Tulip Fields

For the first time ever, I’m welcoming a guest blogger! Suzette, from the travel blog Try Something Fun, is here to share her experience of the beautiful Skagit Valley tulip fields in Washington. 


Flower gardens are one of my favorite things to see when I’m traveling because they bring me peace. They truly drain the stress right out of my world. There are other reasons as well; gardens are often designed with cultural concepts in mind. In Japan, some gardens are examples of harmony between man and nature. I can definitely see the truth in that, because the colors and shapes orchestrated by nature just amaze me sometimes.

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Purple Trees and Summertime Sadness

It’s only two weeks into summer vacation and I’m already going crazy with free time. And I don’t mean crazy in the good sense. I was supposed to take a French conversation course this summer, but it was cancelled last minute unfortunately. So, with my 15-hour-a-week job, and nothing else on my plate, I’ve had a lot of time to lounge in bed…and lounge in bed some more.

I used to enjoy doing nothing! But I’m so eager for the future to get here that long, empty days really annoy me. But more on that future in a later post!

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Spring Has Sprung

It’s official! Spring has arrived! …at least in California (The flowers say so).

For those of you who live in colder, more seasonally varied areas of the world, I encourage you to live vicariously through these pictures of springtime blooms! I found these bobbing beauties at the Japanese garden (the one nobody knows exists) on my school campus. Many of these are soon to be posted in Etsy!

Enjoy!

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