Show it Calif orni c It 44 p iWa A Bit of California Garden Prepared by tho the National Society t ton D. D C. C Service flEAS of ot southern California A AREAS which are normally arid have haye recently burst forth In a riot of ot colorful wild wll 1 flowers due to the unusually heavy rainfall California has many showcases for the display of ot her diversified floral wares In the high Sierras are the snow plants peeping Inquiringly and a bit nervously through the snowcaps when the first warmth of spring moves the solid soUd pack to mushy activity Further down the slopes lichens mosses sundry family fam tam thy ily groups of ferns and many varieties van vari of w wild d flowers merge Into the wooded lowlands where especially espe espe- north of the Tehachapi mountaIns mountains moun moun- tame the live oak spreads Its Us shapely shape shape- ly limbs and often affords protection while adding beauty to the pasture pastureland pastureland pastureland land where herds of ot fat tat Herefords browse In the northern part of the state roses grow with little cultivation but with the profusion of goldenrod In Pennsylvania Pennsyl No mere bushes suffice for the wealth of blossoms They grow on trees often to a 0 height of ot 12 feet or more and curious curl curi ous ous results of varieties are sometimes found in freakish but delightful array on a 0 single tree In Santa Cruz arbors cover the sidewalks sIdewalks side sIde- walks of some of the streets and andover andover andover over these roses with geraniums climb and rest in clus chin Though the cultivated flowers which abound are beautiful nn and 1 varied all the tile way from the sand dunes Scotch broom and rhododendrons dross drons of Crescent City which Is almost almost al n- al- al most the last outpost In California a before the Redwood highway reaches the Oregon line Une to Ramona's garden garden garden gar gar- den In San Diego only a few miles from the Mexican border It is to the wide open spaces space the desert and mountain sides of ot the southern part i of ot the state which we turn In chief appreciation tIon I One may see arid and study the snow scow plant under the dome of Shasta dip dipInto dipinto dipinto into the tile won wonderland of plant and flower life at the experimental farm of ot the late Luther Burbank near Santa Rosa or wan wander through San Francisco's Gol Golden Gate park where 11 he finds practically every variety variety va va- va of flower an and 1 plant that will grow under a kindly sun Dons Party Dress In Spring In In the early spring California dons her party dress and looks her best The winter Inter rains have tinted hillside and pasture land a verdant green In the citrus areas the delicate delicate deli dell cate orange blossom fills the air with Its perfume an and 1 miles of or trees stretch like milky ways as far as the the eye may follow In other Otiler sections cherry blossoms stage an exhibition The Tile almond almon 1 trees are Indescribably lovely The landscape Is filled with color while snow-capped snow peaks are seen through the tre tops This This' Is cultivated loveliness but butone butone butone one day after a 0 searching rain followed followed fol fol- fol lowed by warm sunshine a mountain moun moun- tam tain sI side suddenly bursts Into flame flamel l a a veritable spontaneous combustion combus tion Literally all outdoors becomes one vast gar garden of ot flowers until it seems there Is no end to the colorful colorful color color- ful rul panorama The cup of gold as the Span Span- lards called the California poppy Is the queen of ot wild 1 flowers And the desert I Who can look look ook upon the tile desert In the spring and talk of barren waste Even Death valley for tOr ages California's bogy spot a 0 place to be spoken of In awed whisper a death trap now has tourist hotels and tent camps Desert vegetation exhibits Its greatest growth and beauty between February and May It Includes the yucca and Juniper the creosote and oDd mesquite many varieties of shrub and herbage an nn occasional J Joshua tree mixed with Indian a a member of ot the yu yucca family fame fain ily Uy monkey-flowers monkey lupine prickly phlox wild buckwheat blazing blazing- star sunflower barrel cactus bloom and many others giving for tor a 0 season the impression of ot a ft flower carpeted world In this lush period the desert literally blossoms as OB the tile rose although the rose does not ordinarily blossom In the des des- ert The term wild flowers does not describe some of this desert flora Occasionally they are arc sa savage flowers flow flow- ers era capable of at protecting themselves themselves them them- selves better than any man made laws could possibly protect them In magnificent color In delicacy of ot texture of ot petal the cactus flowers are perhaps the most wonderful of ot the tile California desert blossoms But no one ever came home from the desert with a handful of cholla flowers flow flow- ers ens or a bouquet of ot prickly pears Look and leave em em Is the safest motto for the tile cactus has a fiendish defense n against all comers corners California mothers no scenic symphony symphony sym sym- phony more marvelous than the tile Yosemite Yosemite Yo- Yo Semite National park with Its mighty peaks rugged canyons giant trees waterfalls spread spread- In a protecting veil over the rocky outlines of naked clefts rising from the floor of the valley sheer a thousand thousand thou thou- sand feet or more In the giant sequoia the sugar sugarpine sugarpine pine pIn the western yellow pine the red and white firs and the Incense- Incense cedar we have In this Yosemite region region re re- re- re gion glen one of ot the most remarkable groups of ot conifers in the world It serves to give the park an Interest and charm which gratifies the esthetic esthetic es es- es- es sense and stirs deeply the Im tin A View of Contrasts From Artists Artist's Point there Is a fine fineview fineview fineview view of ot the valley and Its contrasts In height and depth In verdure and flora Near the foot of at Yosemite falls faUs the largest and most spectacular lar mr In the valley the commonly called blue lilac iliac grows rows In profusion the soft Boft coloring blending with the rainbow of ot the torrent broken in Its descent to the floor of ot the valley The Yosemite National park which embraces 1100 square miles mlles of valley Incomparable and scenic mountains offers a rich field for forthe forthe forthe the botanist So great reat Is the range of ot natural conditions between foothIlls foothills foothills foot foot- hills and mountain glaciers that one authority estimates that 1200 species and varieties of ot flowers plants and ferns are arc native to this I area Though m most st of these are I typical of the entire Sierra Neva Nevada many are exceptionally rare I The fragrance of the western azalea Is enhanced by abundant bloom The delicate canchala a. a with Its snowy clusters of ot bright thick flowers the tile taller with Its dense hea heads of ot dainty fun fun- formed nel-formed blossoms almost salmon In color the golden or monkey monkey flower flower countless blue flowers flow flow- ers ens such as ns the light-blue light pent pent- stemon with Its whorls in tall stems tall tail blue forget nots tiny dark blue the red Indian paintbrush the brilliant scarlet pent stemon pent wIth shaped lance leaves and funnel formed corolla about one Inch long golden buttercups buttercups- all go to form the brilliant mosaic of ot large sheets and pools of color on the valley levels The wide variety of ot conditions ranging from the tile hot and dry slopes of the clad brush-clad foothills to the bleak bicak summits above timberline the abode of glaciers and perpetual snow gives to the flora fiora an exceedIngly exceedingly exceed exceed- diverse and Interesting char char- acter Innumerable springs creeks rivers ponds and lakes provI provide suitable suitable suit sult- able habitats for moisture-loving moisture plants Rocky outcroppings enormous enor enormous enor SIOUS cliffs and gravelly ridges accommodate ac oc ac- ac species adapted to such situations The Irregular topography yields southward-facing southward slopes which receive receive receive re re- re- re the full tuU effect of the suns sun's rays as well as northward slopes cool moist and shady where they are arc little felt The altitude ranges from 2 2500 OO feet teet In the foothill belt to more than feet teet along the crest of tile the Sierra Nevada It Is probable that the first white men to look upon Yosemite valley were members of ot the Joseph R. R Walker expedition of 1833 which descended the western slope of ot the Sierras This expedition apparently did not go down Into the valley and the discovery was not made until 1851 by members of the Mariposa battalion while m in pursuit pur suit of hostile Indians The first white men who frequented frequent frequent- ed this Yosemite hinterland were miners sheep herders and cattle cattle- men Then came surveyors and soldiers sol aol diers to guard the mountain meadows mend mend- and forests And lastly the tourist at first a little group at long Intervals but now In throngs to see seethe seethe the glories of ot the mountains The I first systematic reconnaissance of ot the region was made by the Hie California Call Cal fornia Cornia geological survey suncy between 1803 and 1807 |