I just did a walk up to Caroline Park and luckily had my camera to capture the flowering natives, birds and bunnies. Caroline Park is a native plant park set aside in Redlands CA by Olivia Phelps (of the Phelps-Dodge family) in 1929 to honor her sister Caroline. While the many flowering plants in spring to early summer make it an especially beautiful walk, there’s always something blooming or ablaze with bright berries every month of the year. Yes, drought-tolerant plants can be beautiful — see below.
Wildlife Sightings: In my half hour morning walk I saw or heard 8 birds (scrub jay, California towhee, mourning dove, quail, Anna’s hummingbird, phainopepla, lesser’s goldfinch, house finch) numerous cottontail rabbits and lizards, and plenty of bumble bees, hummingbirds and honeybees pollinating the many flowers.
Distance: the 16 acre park isn’t large but has walking paths meandering throughout
If you can’t make it to Caroline Park, go visit a park near you to remind you of the wonders of spring.
For more info:
Thank you so much for posting this information, Linda! I’ve hiked around Cariline Park for 11 years and I learned more about it in the last five minutes. The fried egg flower is my favorite and they are gorgeous this summer! Your shared knowledge is much appreciated.
So glad it gave you interesting info, which is my goal! Caroline Park is such a special place to immerse yourself in California natives (and one reason that enticed us to move to Redlands)
I visited this park today for the first time and I’ve lived in Redlands for 30 years. What a treat! There is the most amazing mazanita in there. We saw ID numbers on only two trees. What about the others?
glad you enjoyed it…. there are others identified throughout the park, and Dr. Hill still puts markers on many plants when they’re blooming. There’s also the board with identified plants on the corner of Poppy and Mariposa but those are a little outdated. Nearly all the maintenance and upkeep is done by volunteers….