Today we are taking a walk through the Flower Fields at Carlsbad, California. There is no need for stout walking shoes, or a backpack with wet weather gear, walking sticks, and a bottle of water in it for this outing, just a hat and perhaps some sun cream.
Every spring, for about ten weeks, over 50 acres of rolling hillside overlooking the Pacific coast are turned into a multi coloured spectacle with the beautiful shades of thousands of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus.
I don’t think you need me to guide you through this walk, as it is a simple case of meandering at will up and down and along the wide paths between the blocks of flowers, but you will need to be ready to marvel at the expanse of it all as we go. There’s no time limit for how long we can spend here, so wander at will and stop and gaze. There are one or two spots where you can go in amongst the flowers and take an Instagram-worthy photo (and there will be plenty of people doing that!), or you can just sit on the bench and admire them. As you go round you might notice people working in the rows of flowers, cutting them and making them into bunches to be sold in the little shop as you leave.
Look up the slope.
Look down towards the ocean.
I hope you enjoyed our colourful, floral meander. If you would like to join some more walks, Jo has plenty on offer at Jo’s Monday Walks.
April 11, 2018 at 3:04 am
Oh wow, those are stunning!
April 13, 2018 at 7:08 am
It’s quite a sight!
April 11, 2018 at 3:29 am
What a beautiful array of color. 🌸🌹
April 13, 2018 at 7:09 am
It is amazing – the colours are so vibrant.
April 11, 2018 at 3:56 am
So beautiful, Elaine. And so expansive! The fields seem to stretch into eternity! 🙂
April 13, 2018 at 7:10 am
The do seem to go on for miles, and I think the slight curve in the hill enhances that impression.
April 11, 2018 at 4:05 am
What a fabulous extravaganza of colour, Elaine! 🙂 🙂 I’ve read about this before somewhere. Gorgeous shots! Thanks for thinking of me!
April 13, 2018 at 7:12 am
The colours are so lovely and strong – I just wanted to take pictures of them all, over and over again!
April 11, 2018 at 7:36 am
Oh wow!
April 13, 2018 at 7:11 am
There certainly were lots of ‘wow’ moments for me and I often just stood there and marvelled at it all.
April 11, 2018 at 2:42 pm
Wow, beautiful!
April 13, 2018 at 7:13 am
They certainly are – and so many different shades of beautiful too. 🙂
April 12, 2018 at 4:21 pm
Oh, my, jewelled carpets! Now I want to plant ranunculus again! Love the deep pink next to the orange, and the pastel colours all mixed together. I bet you couldn’t resist buying a bunch.
April 13, 2018 at 7:16 am
My favourite section was the mixed pastel colours and I was amused by the sections where a stray colour had got in there, particularly among the white ones. I actually didn’t buy a bunch in the end because they seemed so small in comparison to what I had just been looking at – I’d really have had to buy about 100 bunches to recreate the effect of the fields, and I didn’t have a vase/bucket/receptacle big enough to display them in!
April 12, 2018 at 11:54 pm
I dunno… I’ve seen the traffic from the freeway and it seems like a stout walking stick might be useful for beating off distracted drivers as they nearly run you over. I’ve seen the fields (again, from the freeway, which I now think may be my fav view) many times but never stopped to walk thru. Kudos to you for braving the crowds!
April 13, 2018 at 7:18 am
Ha! Those distracted drivers could be a problem! It was only busy in certain areas – if you walked up to the top of the hill and along, there were only one or two people there – most of the crowds were hovering around the ‘Instagram picture’ areas. 🙂
April 13, 2018 at 1:55 pm
Did you go on a weekday or end. I suspect i drove by on opening or final weekend because you could also see the horrible traffic from the freeway. (It was yrs ago)
April 13, 2018 at 2:38 pm
I was there on a weekday, and about an hour after it had opened. There were a few tourist coaches and several school buses, but I can imagine that it could have got much worse later in the day, and I think I’d probably steer clear altogether at the weekend. 🙂
April 13, 2018 at 11:41 am
That is pretty spectacular. Why do they grow so many? They surely can’t sell them all. The array of colours is wonderful.
April 13, 2018 at 2:44 pm
They grow so many now because it is mainly a tourist attraction, and showcases the beauty of the flowers but it started about 100 years ago when an early settler and horticulturalist decided that he would develop and cultivate the then not very popular ranunculus. Now they sell bulbs online and in shops. The money they get from the tourists goes back into development and research.
April 13, 2018 at 10:46 pm
Wow, what a display! Who knew ranunculas came in so many beautiful colours. Your photos are lovely, Elaine.
April 14, 2018 at 5:52 pm
I had no idea there would be so many shades – particularly the pastel ones. There are also lots of different shaped flowers, which is interesting.
April 14, 2018 at 5:55 pm
Do you have room in your new garden for a few?
April 14, 2018 at 5:58 pm
Yes, there is quite a bit of space that could do with filling – so maybe I’ll consider one or two of them. 🙂
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April 16, 2018 at 2:12 pm
Wow, just wow!! Those flowers are amazing and the colours are simply stunning – my idea of heaven 🙂 🙂