California’s natural splendor intensifies each year as spring nears—perhaps most notably with the appearance of pastel-painted nut and fruit blossoms that stretch for miles across the San Joaquin Valley. Orchards from Kern County in the south to Tehama County in the north come to life with a display that gradually unfolds across the landscape. During the bloom sequence, vast stretches of flowers appear, signaling new growth after winter dormancy. A lmond orcha rds awaken in mid- to l ate February and offer a dazzling show as trees begin the process of setting the season’s crop. Knobby buds swell on the branches of the trees and split open, revealing snowy-white petals with touches of pink. Once trees are blanketed in blossoms, the Story by Christine Souza Almond orchards California
28
January/February 2022
Powered by FlippingBook