I have been dying to check out the California poppies since I moved to Los Angeles.The past couple of years because of the drought the California poppies have been sparse, if not non existent. But this year with all the fabulous luscious rainfall I knew it was the year to visit the gorgeous poppies because they would be in full bloom.
I decided to go one lovely April morning with one of my girlfriends. We set out to visit the California poppies in the Antelope Valley Reserve on a warm Sunday morning to beat the afternoon traffic. The Antelope Valley Reserve has this wonderful live camera on their website so you can see exactly what the land looks like in that very moment and the fields were in full bloom. It took us around an hour and a half to get there. We arrived around 10:30am which was the perfect time.
When I say there were rolling hills of poppies I am not exaggerating one bit. There was a beautiful oceanic sea of orange for as far as the naked eye could see. The poppies were endless with sprinkled in purple and yellow flowers as well. Once we arrived it was a breeze finding parking. I totally suggest getting there before the afternoon rush. At the entrance of the field of poppies were several locals selling local honey, handmade candles, and ostrich eggs. The ostrich eggs were HUGE.
We basked in the glory of the poppies for a few hours playing around with some fun fabrics we brought with us while snapping photos here and there. The poppies totally stole the show in all our pics. I even made a little worm friend in the fields who traveled with us back to the city. I placed my worm friend in the garden where I live and we got to know one another over a couple days before our paths went separate directions.
A few hours at the reserve is the perfect amount of time to just relish in the beauty of the flowers and snap a few photos and check out some of the local products the locals were selling. If you still haven't visited make sure you do before mid May. Peak bloom is from mid March to early May. The poppies will not disappoint. I totally get the allure now and I am so grateful for all the rain for giving our beauty Mother Earth nourishment to let the flowers really thrive and bloom this season.
I decided to wear this light tulle and mesh blush pink dress. It is light and I love that I don't have to wear a bra with it. The tulle flower details cover up your nipples perfectly and the fit of the dress keeps your girls lifted. The pink was a fun compliment to the orange.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this post and the dreamy style of the photos. We played with putting fabrics in front of the lens to produce this effect. It's a fun little trick one of my fave photographers showed me long ago.
Have a beautiful rest of your day and make sure you go check out the poppies.
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