Wildflowers abloom in Santa Barbara

As Easter weekend and the beginning of spring hits, wildflowers are popping out in Santa Barbara. Although many people drive up to Figueroa Mountain to check out the poppies, you don’t have to go far for a flower fix. Local Sierra Club hike leader Stephen Dougherty stopped by our Santa Barbara studio to speak with Morning Edition host Lisa Osborn about how and where to find these tiny treasures.

Photo: Ken Pfeiffer

The flowers are small, typically only an inch or so in diameter, so Dougherty says you need to look carefully to spot them. Purple wildflowers, like these ones, have whimsical names like Blue Dicks, Fiesta Flower, Canyon Pea, Caterpillar Phacelia, Purple Nightshade, Hummingbird Sage. Dougherty says you can find these right now on the Cold Spring Trail in Montecito, among other local trails.