“Naked Ladies” - Amaryllis belladonna.

California is well known for having a zillion micro-climates. Half an hour east or west of my home, the temperature varies five to ten degrees at any given time. We also have just as many micro-seasons. Having grown up back East, part of me still mixes up the months, April and August having relatively similar temperatures and light here, compared to the Northeast. 

But plants remind me what season it is. Queen Anne’s Lace spreads across our fields on August. We are a month into Blackberry Season, when plump ripe berries on the wild bushes along the trail call to me to do my part in spreading their seeds. August also offers, over just a couple of weeks, “Naked Ladies” season. Amaryllis belladonna (“beautiful lady”) doesn’t bloom until its leaves have died, leaving the stalks bare. I was surprised to learn that this flower is not native to California, as I had not seen them before living here. It’s from South Africa and has naturalized around the world in Mediterranean climes.