Rains spur a wildflower rebound

They’re back.

The wildflowers, that is.

After a prolonged drought, this year’s bloom of spring annuals in California deserts is shaping up as the best in several years. The peak, as of the Travel section’s deadline Tuesday, is expected the last two weeks of this month, depending on weather.

“It’s going to be a flower year that we haven’t seen in five years,” said Fred Jee, supervising ranger at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park east of San Diego. Dune evening primrose and desert lilies are blooming especially well, he said.

Credit the rain for the bounty. About 4 inches have fallen since July 1. That’s less than the annual season average of 6 inches but more than the park has seen in total in the last two years, Jee said.

It’s hard to predict peak bloom because nature is fickle. Park officials were hoping for moderate days and more rain the rest of March to push the petals, which can be damaged by excessive heat and wind.

The story was similar at Death Valley National Park. Less rain has fallen than is usually needed for a great bloom, “but it came at just the right time to get things started,” said park naturalist Charlie Callagan.

Desert gold and sand verbena were among the flowers spotted last week in Death Valley.

Novice flower fans who expect to see vast seas of splashy color in the desert, however, are apt to be disappointed, even in the best wildflower years, Callagan and Jee said. Such displays occur only in cultivated fields. Nature is more parsimonious with her favors.

“You aren’t going to see flowers whizzing by at 70 miles an hour,” Callagan said. “You have to get out of your car and search.”

For tips on where to find the flowers, stop by the parks’ visitors centers, or call or visit their Internet sites. Anza-Borrego: (760) 767-5311, www.anzaborrego.statepark.org. (Click on “About the Park,” then “Wildflowers.”) Death Valley: (760) 786-3200, www.nps.gov/deva. (Click on “News.”) Jee suggested visiting Anza-Borrego on weekdays to avoid crowds.