- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Monarchs and California golden poppies...Color them orange...Color them bold...Color them beautiful...
And color them natives...
The California golden poppy, Eschscholzia californica, California's state flower, is popping up all over, while monarchs, Danaus plexippus, are winging their way inland from their overwintering sites along the California coast.
The overwintering population in California dropped this year by 30 percent as compared to last year, according to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. The stormy weather didn't help.
"The 27th annual Thanksgiving count ran from November 11 through December 3, 2023, totaling 233,394 butterflies across 256 overwintering sites in the western United States," Xerces reports on its website. "This tally is slightly lower than last year's (330,000), yet similar to the 2021 count. The overwintering population of western monarchs remains at approximately 5% of its size in the 1980s."
Overall, habitat loss and increased use of pesticides and herbicides continue to be key factors in the decline of the monarch population.
Interestingly enough, both monarchs and California golden poppies are toxic. "All parts of the (California golden poppy) plant have toxic properties if ingested," according to the State of California Capitol Museum website. And, as we all know, monarchs are toxic. As caterpillars, monarchs sequester or store toxins from milkweed, and those toxins help protect them from predators. The coloring is also a deterrent.
Two natives, toxic, but beautiful...
- Author: Christine Casey
The April bee plant of the month is not one plant. Instead it is the many California wildflowers that are bloom from late winter through spring, reaching their peak in early April. These plants lovely to look at and they give a uniquely California feel to a garden. Some also provide critical bee forage in late winter and early spring when few other plants are flowering.
Here are some of the more-commonly grown species, listed in approximate order of bloom. Also listed are the bees most commonly observed on each, when that information is well-described.
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica): bumble bees and sweat bees
Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Five spot (Nemophila maculata). Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa)
Globe Gilia (Gilia capitata)
Birds Eye (Gilia tricolor)
Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia spp.): many plant species, each with a specialist bee species
Lupine (Lupinus spp.): many species of this plant, bumble bees are common
Phacelia (Phacelia spp.): many plant species, bumble bees and honey bees are common
While some of these plants can be purchased at garden centers, the best way to grow them is to broadcast seed in the fall; they will all germinate and survive on normal rainfall. Seed mixes are available, or you can purchase seeds of individual species and make your own mix.
The Haven's wildflowers are just starting to bloom. Pictured here are flowers from my own bee garden in Woodland, just north of Davis.
/div>/div>/div>- Author: Marian I Chmieleski
You have probably seen them. They are peeking out from under bushes in yards around town, beginning to wave like so many little orange-gold flags along drives and on hillsides around the state. Yes, the California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is making its yearly debut.
This little poppy is native not only to California, but also to Oregon and grows in all zones therein. It is actually a perennial, but most people use it as an annual in the garden. After the blooms fade the plant dries and looks quite weedy, so you have several choices. You can just pull out the plants, leaving the spot tidy and ready for something else. If you do, however, you will need to reseed next year if you want poppies again. Or you can leave the plants and let them go to seed naturally. The seeds form on long, slender, arching pods. If you happen to be out in the garden when the pods open you will hear a gentle "pop" and then a soft rain as the seeds fall to earth. (I was delighted the first time I heard it and realized what it was.) Once the pods have popped you can safely pull the dried plants to neaten your garden, knowing that your next year's crop has been seeded. One caution, however: mine are on a slight slope facing west and many of the seeds over the years have landed on the sidewalk. A good sweep with the broom sends them back where I want them. OR you can cut the plants back almost to the ground and they are very likely to grow again the following spring.
I planted my poppies as part of a wildflower mix some 20 years ago and have enjoyed their returning blooms ever since. In the last few years, however, I have pulled out plants a little early and not been so careful about the seeds--probably because I have always had a glorious display and felt "poppy wealthy". Perhaps due to that cavalier attitude combined with the scarce rainfall this winter, I have very few poppies in my yard so far this year. Still, I smile as I can see poppies in several of the yards up my street where the wind has shared my poppy seeds.
The Antelope Valley boast hillsides covered with poppies every spring. Nearby the city of Lancaster holds a California Poppy Festival (this year on April 20-21), celebrating with music, art, food and fun our state flower.
Our official California Master Gardener emblem, Eschscholzia californica was named circa 1810 by a German botanist after his friend Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz had brought it back from a scientific expedition to the Pacific. It was chosen by the California State Floral Society as the state flower in 1890 and made official by the legislature on April 6, 1903. Happy 110th anniversary, little gem!