TASTE
Taste of Normalcy
Placer County ’ s mandarin orange growers are having another bountiful season
BY Steph Rodriguez PHOTOS BY Debbie Cunningham
John ( left ) and Annie Bowler bought the Flower Farm property in 2004 . The land has been farmed since 1905 and now has 6 acres of mandarin oranges plus other fruits and vegetables .
Annie Bowler grew up running through her family ’ s 8-acre orange orchard in Ojai in Ventura County . She recalls tending to her family ’ s small vegetable garden and helping her late brother , Tom Martin , pour wine at the Paso Robles Wine Festival , which he started in 1983 . Her family ’ s roots are embedded in California soil .
Now Annie and her husband , John Bowler , own and operate the Flower Farm in Loomis with 6 acres of mandarin oranges and an additional half-acre that has malbec grapes , other fruit trees , vegetable gardens and colorful flower beds . It ’ s also home to the Flower Farm Inn ; Flower Farm Cafe ; and Flower Farm Events Barn , which , before coronavirus restrictions , hosted large weddings .
“ This land has been farmed since 1905 continuously , so our soil is very fertile ,” Annie says . “ There ’ s been plum trees and , I believe , a pear orchard for a while , and then in between there was cattle and sheep .” The Bowlers are members of the Mountain Mandarin Growers ’ Association , which promotes agritourism for its roughly 30 mandarin farms throughout Placer County .
Mandarins and other citrus are a commodity of local pride in Placer County , which has hosted the annual Mountain Mandarin Festival since 1994 . But the county ’ s 2020-21 citrus season — which includes mandarin , navel and blood oranges ; Meyer lemons ; and grapefruit — has been a bit different . According to the Bowlers , the longer , hotter summer days meant their mandarins started ripening at the end of October , earlier than normal .
32 comstocksmag . com | January 2021