An Early March Weekend of Flowers in Carlsbad

Drove up to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad for an early March weekend of flowers. The ranunculus are already going, earlier in the season than I'd have guessed, with plenty of buds still closed in the rows.

The fields are planted in blocks by color, so walking the rows means moving from one section to the next — a whole stretch of dark burgundy and purple near the bottom, then a run of orange so dense it reads as one color from a distance, then the mixed pinks up the hill toward the buildings. The orange block was the fullest, big ruffled heads leaning on each other. Down in the purple section the horizon runs out past the fields to the smokestack by the coast.

Overcast most of the time, sun breaking through here and there. The dirt between rows was still soft from rain. A few sections were covered with black cloth at the top of the hill, whatever comes up next still hidden.