IF YOU'RE A WILDFLOWER FAN, and you've been following the multi-month roll-out of wildflower sightings around the state, from the dry gullies of Anza-Borrego State Desert Park to the gentle hills of Carrizo Plain National Monument, you've likely heard some of the same blossom handles over and over again: California poppies, goldfields, sunflowers, lupines, and fiddlenecks. But there are other flowers in the Golden State that are of the carefully tended and cultivated variety, and they, too, our springtime superstars, from the ranunculus of The Flower Fields in Carlsbad to the many varieties springing up in fields around Lompoc. The Santa Barbara County burg's flower season revs up around April and can push into early fall, but you're sure to see some sweetness if you visit the mural-lovely town in May and June. We said "sweetness" on purpose there, for it looks as though the sweet peas, those fragrant and frilly beauties, are now breaking out, colorfully.
A PHOTO SHARED... on the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor's Bureau's Facebook page on May 4, 2017 reveals a field in lush bloom. Coming across a growing sweet pea, outside of a backyard pot or plot, isn't the easiest thing in the world, so spying a profusion of them is quite the treat for the sweetpea-ists of the Golden State. But other flowers are locally famous, too, around Lompoc, including marigold, larkspur, and stock. To see what's happening at the wine country-close fields, and to time your visit, best eye this helpful pdf guide to Lompoc's springtime show.
