Fifty acres of flowers — what more could a Road Trips Gardener want to see?

Yes, the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week from March 1 through May 14, 2017. Admission is $14 for adults.

Today’s colorful fields are a direct result of over 85 years of floral cultivation that began when Luther Gage, an early settler and grower settled in the area in the early 1920’s. Gage brought Ranunculus seeds to the area and began growing them in his fields next to Frank Frazee’s small vegetable farm in South Oceanside. This started a business called “Luther Gage Giant Tecolote Ranunculus bulbs”. The name “Tecolote” came from the owls that nested on his property. Fast forward almost a century, and the business has bloomed into “the perfect synthesis of a robust working ranch and regional tourist attraction”.

Visitors can walk through the fields or take a tractor wagon ride.

Of course you’ll want to buy some bulbs to bring home. A package of bulbs purchased this season will last for up to two years if stored in a cool, dry place (40°-80° F).

The ranunculus flower is native to Asia Minor and is a member of the buttercup family. This blossom also is known as a Persian Buttercup or Ranunculus Asiatic. While the ranch specializes in growing the bulbs for sale, a portion of the flower crop is sold as cut flowers.

(Photo courtesy of The Flower Fields)