Wild Cyclamen

Those are stunning, Alex :o)

They are beautiful Tt, all over the sides of the road.

Must be fantastic to have them growing in the wild:o)

It is Plantoholic. I was glad I stopped the car today to just walk around and absorb their beauty. I had to take some pics for all of you to see as well.

aren't they lovely!

I agree there Lulu, they are lovely...;o)

Thanks Alex they are fantastic wish mine would produce as many blooms per plant as thoes.Bet the corm under this one is massive and old

Nice to see them in the wild.

You're welcome Brian. I think of you when I see Cyclamens and snowdrops (and Rhododendrons and ferns and Hoya Bellas etc.etc.etc.). I'm sure the corm is massive...mine are nowhere near as nice as these. Maybe in a few years???

Rbtkew, it is lovely to see so many of them in the wild.

What an amazing sight these are Alex. We have lost so many of our "wild flower" fields over the years..I always remember seeing a field in the distance of wild poppies..it was like a solid red oblong on the side of the hill..takes your breath away doesnt it.

That sounds amazing....my oldest son has loved Poppies from very young. I've planted a few wild Poppies plus have a few packs of seeds...not very lucky with Poppies for some reason. I was told to just sow them directly into the garden and they will germinate, so that's what I will do this year.

Apparently they do like rough treatment..you see them in fields of corn..when the corn is harvested the seed pods are scattered all over the field as a result.

They're wonderful! Cyclamen are so expensive here.

Do they come up every year around this time?

I wonder why they are expensive there??? Too hot for them?

Yes, they pop up every year around this time. There are some in my garden as well ;o))))))))

Yes, Cyclamen typically don't like out hot and super dry weather we can get during Santa Ana Wind condition (the humidity can go down below 10%).

Here's a little explanation of the Santa Ana Winds. Most people who don't live here can never understand it. Strong Santa Ana winds have pushed temps in December, January and February to almost 100ºF/38ºC. in some areas of s. California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Ana_winds

Had a look at the link then got really curious and looked up names of different winds. I was so surprised to find that the names we use here are the real names of the winds. I thought they were names the locals used here. Surprise, surprise.
We get this wind called Sirocco, which blast us from Africa...it must feel very similar to your Santa Ana winds. It's ok if it's not raining but when it rains.....ah we get red rain (sand from the desert), it makes a mess of everything.

Yes, the Sirocco winds are just as famous and the Santa Ana, Sundowner, Chinook and Mistral winds. The Sirocco winds can affect a larger area than the Santa Ana Winds, though. I would hate to have red rain! It's bad enough when we get strong Santa Ana winds we can get dust and sand blowing from the east (mountains and deserts) luckily severe Santa Ana Wind events (here, where I live) does not happen too often (not like in northern San Diego County and the Los Angeles Area).

From what I've read there's really no actual Sirocco Wind season (I guess you can get the winds anytime of the year), like the Santa Ana season, which is from mid-Sept - May.

Sirocco winds also give people head aches!!! Mostly when it's hot, dry and very windy. Sometimes, you can see the sand in the sky. Not good, they get it worse down south.

Santa Ana Winds give people headaches, extremely dry skin and the list goes on-and-on. It has to do with the atmospheric conditions. I've seen dust storms like what you're describing here in CA. It's not fun!