California "super boom," not super bloom expected this spring. Here's what to know.
NEVADA CITY - Spring has sprung, but we may not see the picture-perfect super blooms Californians have become accustomed to.
Sanjan Thele, a gardener at Crystal Hermitage Gardens in Nevada City, said that instead of a super bloom this year, he and other gardeners are predicting a "super boom."
"This year, it's a lot warmer and things are blossoming at the right pace compared to last year where everything was all together," said Sanjan. "I like to call it a super boom because it's going to be really vibrant, you can kind of feel it in the air. It feels like it's going to be a really rich season."
What exactly is a boom versus a bloom?
Sanjan took CBS13 through the terraces that have each path paved and plant planted purposefully, creating serenity for the soul. The star of the show is the 20,000-plus tulips that have 126 varieties.
"Last year was of course the snowmageddon," Thelen said. "We were behind by three weeks and under six feet of snow for a period."
This year, the warmer weather has tulips blossoming at the right pace, but they likely will not see a super bloom because the wet weather did not germinate the seeds in the garden all at once.
"There will be a rich vibrant blooming of everything, but it won't be all at once," Thelen said.
Experience the boom in Nevada City
Tickets to experience Crystal Hermitage start on Saturday, April 6. Thelen predicts this weekend, and the coming week will be the best time to see the bloom, but things will still be flowering for Mother's Day.
"When we really are in full bloom people just so appreciate the garden and it is almost like the flowers and plants respond to that appreciation, and they are kind of on show there," Thelen said.
The garden also has a pool to sit near, a temple and a chapel for anyone who comes to experience the beauty.
Visitors to Crystal Hermitage Gardens like Fritz and Elaine Culvers were beholding the beauty for themselves even before the full bloom.
"I love the Camellias at the beginning," Elaine said.
Elaine and her husband were visiting from Albuquerque with her 97-year-old mother from Foresthill.
Thelen said the spring sunshine and mild temperatures will have the buds blooming in no time. The most ideal weather for the tulips is sunshine and 50 or 60 degrees.
"There's the mist, the cold, the heat," Thelen said. "It just adds to the flavors and temperament of the different plants we have."
Thelen said the garden is run by more than 200 yogis and their goal is to bring peace into every aspect of life.
"We're part of a spiritual community here, so there's a lot of meditation," Thelen said. "We are putting a lot of energy to just make it uplift people and share the essence of the peace we try to embody in our own lives."
