April 23, 2013—The Santa Cruz Sandhills are worth all the fuss people make over them. Created from deposits left 15 million years ago when the area was underwater, they are islands of biodiversity characterized by light-colored sand, tough shrubs, Ponderosa pines and a handful of flowers and critters found nowhere else, such as the endangered Santa Cruz wallflower (pictured). Quail Hollow Ranch County Park has one of the examples of sandhill habitat around. Four times a year, on Sundays in April, the park opens its swath of protected sandhills for a guided tour. To make reservations, call 831.335.9348.
The chaparral section of the sandhills is home to, among other treasures, silver bush lupine. With its pale lavender blooms and silvery foliage—the better to reflect light from the white sand and avoid burn—it’s a very pretty take on the lupine you usually see around here. The sandhills are also home to the endangered Santa Cruz wallflower and the tiny pink Ben Lomond spineflower, as well as the wee Santa Cruz monkeyflower. Additionally, the poppies here are yellow (not orange) and have foliage that ranges from nearly blue to purplish.
The sandhill parklands, meanwhile, hosts purple owl clover, California goldfields and pussypaws in addition to enormous Ponderosa pines, which we usually associate with the Sierras and which seldom grow at this low elevation.
And as it happens, if you miss the guided sandhills walks, the rest of Quail Hollow isn’t too shabby, with lots of lupine, poppies and scores of tiny flowers growing in grasses. Discovery Loop is a good place to start. Quail Hollow Ranch has a plant list to get you going.
