Subject: Science: Natural & Physical

Wild Gardens Series (cc)

"Highly Recommended! This series is an incomparable tour of natural beauty, offering breathtaking close-ups of wildflowers, panoramic views of sky and mountains, descriptive narration and symphonic music. A delight for the senses and a joy for nature enthusiasts, it is a wonderful opportunity to luxuriate in the beauty of nature." -MidWest Book Review
If you love nature, exotic places and wildflowers, you are invited to experience the Wild Gardens Series, created and hosted by the noted naturalist, historian and composer, Martin Hale, who takes you to sights that have never been filmed before. Each program is enhanced by state-of-the-art digital technology with close-ups of individual, exquisite wildflowers that fill the screen with an aura of rarely seen beauty, while the soundtrack, composed by Hale, is the perfect counterpoint to the startling beauty of the flowers and the passionate, but understated, narration. Steve Boyd, Curator of the Herbarium at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, who worked with Hale to confirm the botanical plant identifications and supply additional information on the featured plants, says, "the series makes the flowers and locations so accessible it will enhance the audience's understanding of our natural environment." Produced by Flying Cloud Productions. Closed-Captioned. Programs available on 15 individual DVDs, Digital Streaming Files or Videos; also in a 15-Disc Set. For pricing call in US: 800.876.2447/Intl. 603.434.9262 or e-mail

List of Titles

1. Anza-Borrego Desert - Wildflowers 1 (cc)

Host Martin Hale introduces California as one of the world's premier wild gardens. For every four flowering plants in the United States, one is found in California; it is one of the world's botanical hot spots. Our first visit is to the Anza-Borrego State Park, located in the western Sonoran Desert about 140 Click for more

2. Anza-Borrego Desert - Wildflowers 2 (cc)

Host Martin Hale continues our Sonoran Desert journey through the Anza-Borrego Desert, one of the most spectacular desert wildflower regions in the world. Here we are taken to Jojoba Wash, Canyon Sin Nombre, Alta Bisegna Wash and Split Mountain; in each sight we discover beautiful scenery and find nature's fireworks Click for more

3. Anza-Borrego Desert - Wildflowers 3 (cc)

Host Martin Hale continues our Sonoran Desert journey through the Anza-Borrego Desert to reveal more wonders of this fabulous desert locale. We begin at Pinyon Mountain Road, a little known treasury of wildflowers; then it's Mine Canyon, where we find the remains of a Native American village and see pictographs Click for more

4. Joshua Tree National Park - Wildflowers (cc)

Host Martin Hale welcomes us to one of America's most popular and most visited National Parks, Joshua Tree National Park, which gets its name from the Joshua Trees that grow throughout this section of the desert. This unique park is the only one of Southern California's desert locations that contains both the Click for more

5. The Santa Rosa Mountains, Box Canyon, Painted Canyon - Wildflowers (cc)

Palm Springs, California, is an epicenter of three great wildflower sites and host Martin Hale expertly guides us through all three. The range of mountains closest to Palm Springs is the Santa Rosa/San Jacinto Mountains, which are the westernmost reach of the Sonoran Desert. Some of the wildflowers we discover Click for more

6. Chaparral (Elfin Forest) - Wildflowers 1 (cc)

Chaparral, the name conjures visions of the old west, but actually the Chaparral landscape makes up a good part of the California countryside. Called by some an "Elfin Forest," it consists of oak, sage and scrub; it's also the home of many species of gorgeous wildflowers. Host Martin Hale guides us on our Chaparral Click for more

7. Chaparral (Elfin Forest) - Wildflowers 2 (cc)

Host Martin Hale delves deeper in the Chaparral landscape, aka the Elfin Forest, visiting the Santa Ana/Elsinore Mountains' area, starting with a surprising find of wildflowers in the nearby Gavillan Hills, which are northeast of Lake Elsinore. Also old movies of some Santa Ana/Elsinore Mountains waterfalls Click for more

8. Chaparral (Elfin Forest) - Wildflowers 3 (cc)

Many people have heard of Palomar Observatory, home to the giant telescope located on top of Palomar Mountain, which is located ninety miles southeast of Pasadena, California; others have heard of the historic town of Warner Springs situated in the nearby rolling hill country. But relatively few know that this remote Click for more

9. East Mojave Desert - Wildflowers (cc)

Thousands of people drive through the East Mojave Desert every day on their way to or from Las Vegas, Nevada. As they go down the highway from Baker, California, many are unaware they are passing through one of the great natural treasures of California. As host Martin Hale explains, "prepare yourself for jaw-dropping Click for more

10. West Mojave Desert - Wildflowers (cc)

Like the East Mojave Desert the West Mojave Desert is volcanic and occurs at higher elevations; it is a hotbed of wildflowers and natural beauty. Host Martin Hale guides us from the volcanic area known as Fossil Falls, through the El Paso Mountains, then into Red Rock Canyon State Park, where we see unique and Click for more

11. San Gabriel Mountains - Wildflowers (cc)

Host Martin Hale confirms what John Muir once said about California's San Gabriel Mountains, "they are the most up and down range he ever traveled." Part of Southern California's transverse range, these mountains sit astride some of the most populous areas in the world. They are an inescapable presence here, Click for more

12. San Bernardino Mountains - Wildflowers 1 (cc)

Just east of the San Gabriel Mountains and part of the same transverse range are the San Bernardino Mountains. Once mined for gold and logged for timber, these mountains today offer all of us another kind of natural treasure: wildflowers. Here our host Martin Hale takes us down a little known forest service Click for more

13. San Bernardino Mountains - Wildflowers 2 (cc)

Host Martin Hale continuies in the scenic San Bernardino Mountains, home to the tallest peak in Southern California, San Gorgonio Mountain. We begin in Holcomb Valley, which was named for the miner who discovered gold here in 1860; today, it's a wonderful place to discover wildflowers. Exploring mountain slopes Click for more

14. Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve (cc)

Host Martin Hale welcomes viewers to the beautiful Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, which is located 15 miles west of Lancaster in the western Mojave Desert, and is the state's most consistent poppy-bearing land. First we meet one of the original founders, 97-year-old Dorothy Bolt, who proudly Click for more

15. Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park (cc)

Hosted by Martin Hale, this program guides us through the Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park, in far northern Los Angeles County, which we learn was named for an environmentally forward-thinking farmer, Arthur "Archie" Ripley, who donated 566 acres to the state of California in order to protect Click for more