BLOOMS WITH A VIEW SEEDS MADE EASY.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Wildflowers are so plentiful this spring, people don't have to drive to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve to enjoy them.

Pink and white primroses, parry gilia, golden gilia, lacey phacelia, wild rhubarb, and lupine color Palmdale Boulevard from Palmdale to Sun Village. Poppies sprout in Quartz Hill and Lancaster vacant lots. Alyssum and goldfields fill fields between avenues K and J on the westside.

Antelope Valley residents can bring some of that color into their backyards if they know where to buy the seeds and know the right techniques.

``The majority of the annuals are very easy to grow,'' said Laima Harmon, seed room coordinator at Sun Valley-based Theodore Payne Foundation, which offers hundreds of varieties of seeds from wildflowers that grow all over California.

Private firms sell wildflowers over the Internet.

Outsidepride.com offers seeds for baby blue eyes, bird's eyes, blazing star, blue sage, California poppy, chicory, four o'clock, forget-me-not, Johnny jump-up and primroses along with other wildflowers. The Wildflower Seed Company of Napa Valley, at www.wildflower-seed.com, offers a California native mix that includes 14 flower varieties from all over California.

In Tehachapi, the Tehachapi Resource Conservation District sells California poppy seeds and a mix of California poppy, golden yarrow, tidy tips and goldfield, which all grow in the Antelope Valley, along with mountain garland, blue flax, bird's eye gilia, California bluebells, perennial lupine, miniature lupine and Mexican campion.

The Tehachapi district has sold out its stocks but will have more available next fall.

Antelope Valley wildflower expert Milton Stark, who wrote the book ``Flower-Watcher's Guide to Spring Blooming Wildflowers of the Antelope Valley,'' has had some success growing wildflowers from seed purchased from the Payne Foundation.

Although he has changed his landscaping, each spring his backyard sprouts new seedlings from some of the varieties he planted.

``Every year I get another batch of hooker primrose,'' said Stark.

Wildflower seeds should be planted in November through January because that is their natural growth cycle, Harmon said. Seeds can still be planted now but the new plants must be watered regularly to survive.

``In our Mediterranean climate, when we have winter rains and summer droughts, most of the plants have evolved to have their growing season in winter through spring and then they go into dormancy if they're perennials because of the summer heat, or if they're annuals they die,'' said Harmon.

In planting wildflowers, she said, it's best not to cover seeds with dirt because they need light to germinate. A common danger to wildflowers is that nonnative weeds grow faster than the wildflowers, blocking their sunlight.

``(Gardeners) need to be vigilant in culling grasses and weeds that are nonnative,'' said Harmon.

Another danger is wildlife: Birds eat the seeds, and squirrels and rabbits eat the seedlings.

``You always anticipate that some of your seeds will be lost to birds and insects,'' Harmon said. ``It's good to plant in masses so that if some are lost you'll still have some plants.'' Harmon's tips for successfully growing wildflowers are:

--Make sure the area is free of weeds and grasses.

--Break up the topsoil several inches deep.

--Press the seeds gently into the soil but don't cover them.

--Keep the soil moist until the seedlings are 2 inches tall. If planting in the winter season, after seedlings are 2 inches tall they don't have to be watered anymore. If seeds are planted now, they will have to be watered throughout their lifetime.

Harmon recommends sowing seeds directly into the ground, rather than in pots, because many wildflowers develop long taproots.

Garden wildflowers should last four to six months and will generally bloom for two or three weeks for annuals.

The Payne Foundation regularly sells out of seeds each spring. Gardeners should call or e-mail the foundation to check on availability.

The foundation is at 10459 Tuxford St. in Sun Valley. Call [phone] or visit www.theodorepayne.org.

The Tehachapi Resource Conservation District office is at 202 S. Green St. in Tehachapi, [phone]. The district wildflower mixture is normally available for $9 for a quarter-pound, $17 for a half-pound and $32 for a pound. California poppy seeds are $16 a quarter-pound, $11 a half-pound and $20 for 1 pound.

Although wildflowers are appealing, the desire to pick them should be curbed unless permission is received in writing from the owner of the property.

California law says picking wildflowers illegally can be punished by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in jail.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Desert dandelions sprout up under sunny skies near Palmdale Boulevard and 65th Street East.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer

(2 -- 3 -- color) Wild rhubarb, at left, and dune primroses, above, are among many varieties that can be seen growing naturally in the Antelope Valley or purchased as seeds to grow in home gardens.

(4) Davy gilia grows in a field near 70th Street East and Palmdale Boulevard.

(5) Lacey phacelia blooms among fiddlenecks along Palmdale Boulevard and 65 Street East.

Peggy Hager/Daily News