The Flower Fields®

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2011-10-12 13:05

The Flower Fields^® are now closed for the 2013

season, please check back for our 2014 season dates

Take yourself out of the ordinary and spend a few hours in one of nature's wonders - our Fields of Dreams, our Fields of Color. A place where kids can run and adults can linger - 50 acres of extraordinary color in bloom on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with a special nursery, garden, and gift shop by Armstrong Garden Centers, and festivals throughout the season.

Please follow us on facebook during our 2013 Season.

For the first time in over 15 years, The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch® has changed its color pattern to a new array of colors this year. Designed by a professional colorist, the 50 acres of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers will cascade down the hillside in a spectacular display of colors sure to take your breath away. New and past visitors will be stunned at new fields of color overlooking the Pacific Ocean

The Flower Fields Attractions

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Antique Tractor Wagon Rides

Guests can enjoy an open-air wagon ride through The Flower Fields via an antique tractor. The ride includes an audio commentary of the history of The Flower Fields for our visitors' enjoyment.

Cymbidium Orchid Greenhouse

Visit our cymbidium orchid greenhouse and view an abundace of beautiful cymbidium orchids which are available for sale at the Armstrong Garden Center.

The Artist Gardens

Imagine a favorite painting transposed into a colorful garden using flowers as an art medium. The displays of spring flowers are as instructive as they are beautiful. Each illustrates how color can be used and enjoyed in gardens at home.

American Flag of Flowers

Our brilliantly-hued American flag waves in the wind. Red, white and blue petunias strategically planted on a 300 by 170 foot hillside pay tribute to the United States.

Sweet Pea Maze

Find the solution to this one of a kind living maze! Immerse yourself in this living maze of fragrant and colorful "old fashion" sweet pea blossoms.

Santa's Playground

Children and adults will delight in the Santa's Playground, the new home to the whimsical play houses and gigantic mushrooms that were part of Santa's Village in Lake Arrowhead years ago. Come see the 'Guard Shack', 'Doll House', 'Crooked Treehouse' and huge colorful mushrooms that so many of us remember from our very own childhood!

Carlsbad Mining Company

Our sluice mining activity. Find your polished gem stones using the miner’s old method of sifting sand in water!

Historic Poinsettia Display

Stroll through memory lane, a 1,500 square foot greenhouse filled with the world famous Ecke poinsettias. Enjoy hundreds of exciting poinsettias in over twenty rare , and unusual varieties. Learn the history of the world's best selling potted plant - The Poinsettia.

Sculpture: "Blow, Wind, Blow" by Fritzie Urquhart

Sculpture: "Blow, Wind, Blow" by Fritzie Urquhart - A 12 ft. sculpture with bells attached to red ventilators that resonates with beautiful sound throught the Fields!

Water Wise Farming

The University of California Cooperative Extension, San Diego County showcases Water Wise Farming: We invite you to visit our water quality awareness model. This educational model demonstrates more than 20 management practices that help farmers protect our water resources. Learn how many of these same practices into your own yards and gardens.

The Flower Fields History

The fields today are a direct result of over 85 years of floral cultivation that began when Luther Gage, an early settler and grower settled in the area in the early 1920’s. Mr. Gage brought Ranunculus seeds to the area and began growing them in his fields next to Frank Frazee’s small vegetable farm in South Oceanside. This started a business called “Luther Gage Giant Tecolote Ranunculus bulbs”. The name “Tecolote” came from the owls that nested on his property.

When fire destroyed the modest Frazee ranch on the inland shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, the family was forced to move to Oceanside where Frank Frazee began growing freesia bulbs to make ends meet. At that time, freesias were in high demand, and Frank took advantage of cheap land leased by the city to expand his crop. In 1933, the elder Frazee added ranunculus to his crop and introduced son Edwin to the art of seeding, cultivating and irrigating the pretty but less popular flower. At the age of 16, Edwin Frazee quit high school to work full time on his father’s burgeoning flower operation.