Wildflower Safaris: West Coast Sunshine and Early Blooms

It's a blustery winter day in central Ohio; snow flurries whip around furiously, biting at my face like a rabid dog with bad dental work. And to think, just a few days ago I was driving down the Oregon coast, into the central valley of California, where winter has nothing to do with metaphoric rabid dogs or blustery snow flurries. Out there, the polished glow of west coast sunshine is generously ladled over the landscape, and early blooms brighten roadsides, flashing motorists with glimpses of bare, naked color. There may even be a few suggestive ententes whispered. Finishing up yet another tour of duty at yet another inn, my wife and I drove off the Long Beach peninsula of southern Washington for the last time, heading south for a job interview of two, and then east, across the desert southwest, keeping out of any potential winter weather for as along as possible during our trip to Ohio. I promised my wife a few wildflowers along the way, even if it was only the first of February. She suspected my medication needed adjusting. Even after those first couple of wildflowers, she remained unconvinced. Maybe that was because those first couple wildflowers were non-native peas: Gorse and Scotch Broom.

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) are a couple of notorious peas (Fabaceae), noted for their eagerness to crowd out all the native species, a real no-no to environmentalists and nature lovers like my wife and me. But they don't stop there, the nefarious botanical beasts, they increases the nitrogen content of the soil, like most peas, creating a habitat for other species of plant which wouldn't be caught dead in the area, or rather would be caught dead, but because the soil is healthier, and all the natives have been forced out, these different plants put down roots and survive where they shouldn't.

Gorse, unlike any other pea I'm familiar with, is a prickly evergreen. It originates in the Mediterranean region of western Europe. It produces about 8000 seeds each year, and those seeds can lay dormant for as long as 40 years! The plants, when they get to be about 12 years old, can actually become top-heavy and topple over. A pretty oily customer, it can be a fire hazard in dry areas.

Neither of these species are looked upon with anything remotely resembling affection. Still, west coast sunshine and early blooms, even if they are Gorse and Scotch Broom, in the middle of winter, well, it beats the hell out of rabid dog snow flurries in Ohio.

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