Wherever you are in California right now, next time you’re driving the nearest highway from point A to point B, take a look out the window. Whether you see the deliberate beautification efforts of an organization that’s donated plants to line a major urban freeway, or blossoming native wildflowers along a rural state road, take a moment to enjoy the colorful view.
Driving just a few miles up CA-17 today, I noticed a cascade of vines covered with yellow flowers pouring over the sound walls. Blooming ice plant smeared the roadside shoulders with purple.
Over on I-280, the ceanothus (that’s California lilac, a native shrub) is in bloom. Bursts of blue, from sky blue all the way to midnight purple, dot the roadsides. Out in the Sierra Foothills, wildflowers are still blooming–I particularly love the deep purple lupines and the pastel flax. The hills still show their spring green–come out and enjoy it now, because it won’t last another month!
