Native plant profile: the desert bluebell

Wildflower season has started in Southern California and this year promises to be a doozy.

The long wet period starting early in winter following on the heals of last year’s fires will make for amazing displays of annual flowers, many of which are considered to be fire followers, adapted to bloom best after their area has burned.

Many poppies, bluebells, pinks, larkspurs and other familiar flower names have local forms that bloom best after fire.

The desert also received early rains and the Anza-Borrego Park Service estimates that the bloom there will peak this weekend. Call (760) 767-4848 for more details.

Among the amazing wildflowers native to the desert is the incredible desert bluebell, Phacelia campanularia.

Easy to grow from seed anywhere with hot weather, this bluebell rivals the Himalayan blue poppy for the status of the bluest blue bloom.

True blue, or a color that approaches primary blue, is rare in nature, as most dark “blues” are actually deep purples.

The saturated color of the desert bluebell, coupled with its large size for a desert annual, makes it the star of every wildflower garden it graces.