flowers

A Free Hotline Devoted to the Latest Wildflower Sightings Is About to Bloom

Helmed by the Theodore Payne Foundation, the recording provides regularly updated messages about where to find some of Southern California's prettiest petals.

Sumiko Scott

What to Know

  • The Theodore Payne Foundation Wild Flower Hotline
  • Launches March 3, 2023; the hotline will be updated each Friday through May
  • 818-768-1802, ext. 7

The window for wildflowers isn't perpetually open, even in Southern California, a robust region that boasts an impressive array of blossoms that are known for sprouting at various elevations.

The heart of wildflower season is, in fact, on the shorter side, stretching from March into May, generally, though the deserts begin earlier and the mountains wrap in June (or thereabouts).

So how does a flower-loving local make the most of the dozen or so weeks when the petal scene is typically at its showiest?

By staying in the know on where to go, of course.

That knowledge can come from following the feeds of favorite places — just about every poppy person loves to check on the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve's Poppy Cam when March arrives — to having a super-smart source to ring up.

And ring up the Thomas Payne Foundation Wild Flower Hotline, people do, all to get the latest in locations associated with ethereal sprays of splendid bloomage.

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The 2023 limited-time hotline launches on Friday, March 3 with "free weekly online and recorded updates."

"All locations are on easily accessible public lands and range from urban to wild, distant to right here in Los Angeles," is the foundation's vow, if you're curious what sort of range the hotline covers.

The "Voice of the Wild Flower Hotline," Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Spano (seen on "Hill Street Blues" and other gems), will inform wildflower seekers about the latest destinations experiencing peak or promising blooms.

Friday is the day when the hotline will be updated, keep in mind, which is ideal since plenty of people plan their spring weekends around wildflower jaunts.

The hotline will keep the reports coming through May, so count on a number of different locales being highlighted in the updates as wildflower waves begin, peak, and conclude.

There are tips at the hotline's online HQ about being a polite visitor to these spaces. Staying on the path is key, and leaving flowers untrammeled is important. Do read up before heading out to see the splendor.

And the telephone number to dial? It's 818-768-1802, ext. 7.

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