Welcome to May! A few weeks ago, UCLA professor Victoria Sork guided a group of her students into Will Rogers State Historic Park to monitor Santa Monica Mountains wildfire recovery. As they hiked, Sork was delighted to discover a particular wildflower already in bloom: Clarkia unguiculata, commonly known as Elegant Clarkia.
On May 16, Sork and the school’s Mathias Botanical Garden will put the beloved-but-niche California native wildflower on display during the second annual Clarkia Flower Festival.
Professor Victoria Sork is the director of UCLA’s Mathias Botanical Garden.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Clarkias bloom at the Mathias Botanical Garden.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“We didn’t want to say, ‘Let’s just do poppies,’” said Sork, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the botanical garden’s director. “This is an opportunity to educate people about the diversity of wildflowers.”
Her focus is local oaks, but the garden announced in 2024 that it would make Clarkia its centerpiece. The garden’s logo, designed by New York advertising agency Little Big Brands, now features four of the 40 species that make up the Clarkia genus.
Perhaps the most famous Clarkia, Clarkia amoena, is commonly called Farewell to Spring. Indeed, the plant often blooms later in the spring than most of its wildflower peers. But at the garden’s so-called Clarkia Hill, several species have already been in bloom for weeks, alongside California poppies and a number of other native California wildflowers.
An April visit offered shades of yellow, gold, orange, pink, red and purple. Just about every other color can be found somewhere in the garden too. A month ahead of its big day, the garden already stunned with an array of native and nonnative plants along its serpentine paths. The goal is to time full bloom for Clarkia Hill perfectly with this month’s event. Also, this year, garden staffers have also been planting native perennials on the hill to keep something in season for much of the year.
“Otherwise,” Sork said, “the rest of the time it looks like a weed patch.”
On a spring day at the Mathias Botanical Garden, visitors walk past colorful flowers.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
The 2025 festival debut attracted roughly 1,500 visitors, about 10 times what the garden attracts on a typical Saturday. In 2026, garden staffers are hoping for a similar turnout.
Forty-plus community partner groups will be in attendance, from North East Trees to the Los Angeles Public Library. So will various vendors of food, drinks and goods. Flower-themed arts and crafts will be created, and one lemon tree will be designated a wishing tree for the occasion. The garden is also planning musical performances, nature walks, an herbarium open house, and two professor talks on Tongva basket weaving and the Clarkia plant.
UCLA’s plentiful signage in the garden details the human history that intertwines with Clarkias and so many other plants. The university uses Indigenous names on dozens of plant signs across the garden.
Visitors walk past Clarkias at the Mathias Botanical Garden.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Clarkias are named after prominent explorer William Clark, who, along with Meriwether Lewis, took his personal slave York on their most famous expedition. Some nurseries and scholars have in recent years taken to calling the plant Yorkia to honor the enslaved man’s many contributions, botanical and otherwise, on the journey.
“The thing about gardens is, you can tell stories,” Sork said. “You can educate people. It’s just a nice way to get people to stand back and look.”
Chantal Ochoa-Clark, the garden’s manager of outreach and education, said the 2025 festival demonstrated there is community demand for plant events.
Chantal Ochoa-Clark, the Mathias Botanical Garden’s manager of outreach and education.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“People are really interested in activities like this,” she said. “We’re happy to be able to provide a space to do this for free.”
The 7½-acre botanical garden is open to the public daily. More than 2,500 schoolchildren from across the Los Angeles area alone have visited since the garden began accepting visits from K-12 schools during the 2021-22 school year.
The free Clarkia Flower Festival is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 16 at 707 Tiverton Drive. For more information about SoCal botanical gardens, visit The Times’ guide here.
Into the woods
On April 10, the California Botanic Garden in Claremont opened a new space, the Children’s Woodland, specifically designed for kids to enjoy. The sprawling 86-acre garden features more than 22,000 native plants. The new woodland space is part of an effort to supply kids their own space to appreciate the biodiversity (and shade) of a native oak habitat. Children are encouraged to touch plants within the space. An outdoor art exhibition called “Joy in the Garden” opened the same day, and it’s on view through June 30. Children and teens, ranging from ages 2 to 18, contributed more than 100 works.
Have a ‘Spring Fling’
On May 16, the Theodore Payne Foundation will host its inaugural Spring Fling fundraiser at the Mulholland Tennis Club in Los Angeles, honoring Susan Gottlieb, the architect of the famed Gottlieb Native Garden in Beverly Hills. Gottlieb, an octogenarian, no longer lives at the house where the one-acre native garden lives, but she still leads occasional tours of the space, which the foundation again highlighted on last month’s native garden tour. Tickets to the fundraiser start at $250. The event starts at 5 p.m. and concludes at 7:30 p.m. and will feature appetizers, cocktails, live music, a raffle and speakers.
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Upcoming events
May 2
Compton Community Garden gardening classes, noon to 1:30 p.m. in Compton. The spring session is on Saturdays through June 13 for seasoned gardeners and newbies. The program is free and open to adults and children. Registration is required. There will be a community potluck to wrap up the six-week program. comptoncommunitygarden.org
South Pasadena Sustainability Fair and plant swap, 1 to 4 p.m. at South Pasadena Nature Park. The city is hosting its annual event at the park, rescheduled from April because of rain. Tickets are free, and bike valet is also free. Bring a labeled plant to trade for something new. southpasbeautiful.org
Dunes to Kelp Forests at Point Dume State Beach, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Malibu. Help remove invasive plants, increase biodiversity and enhance coastal resilience in partnership with the Bay Foundation and Environment California, as part of the Malibu Living Shoreline Project, an effort to restore three acres of beach and dune habitat. santamonicabay.org
May 3
First Sunday Family Friendly Bird Walks at California Botanic Garden, 8 to 10 a.m. in Claremont. Hosts from the Pomona Valley Bird Alliance are leading a two-hour walk through the garden for beginner and experienced birders. Binoculars are available to borrow. calbg.org
May 9
Annual Orchid Auction, noon to 5 p.m. in Long Beach. The Long Beach Amateur Orchid Society will host its annual fundraiser auction. They are requesting donations of specimen orchids. Tickets are free. lbaos.org
Guided Nature Walk at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy’s Native Plant Nursery & Seed Farm Tour, 9 a.m. in San Pedro. Explore behind the scenes at the conservancy’s native nursery and seed farm, where Peninsula habitat restoration is the goal. pvplc.org
Botanical Keepsakes: Pressed Flower Frames at South Coast Botanic Garden, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 3 p.m. in Palos Verdes Estates. Just in time for Mother’s Day, design a floating picture frame using pressed flowers collected from the garden’s grounds. Tickets are $30 for members and $33 for nonmembers. southcoastbotanicgarden.org
May 9 and 10
Geranium Society Show and Sale at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday in Arcadia. Geranium Society members and hobbyists will share expertise on cultivation and propagation. Access is included with garden admission. arboretum.org
May 10 and May 24
Building Native Habitat at Rio de Los Angeles State Park, 9 to 11:30 a.m. in Cypress Park. Help plant, weed, water and mulch native habitat areas at the spacious park next to the Los Angeles River. parks.ca.gov
May 13
Chinese Medicinal Garden Open House at the Huntington, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in San Marino. Experts will give informal tours of the various plant beds contained in the garden’s Chinese medicinal garden section, answering guest questions. The garden reports that all plants in its three main beds appear in the oldest text on Chinese pharmaceuticals. Admission to the garden covers access. huntington.org
May 16
Eagle Rock Garden Tour 2026, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Eagle Rock. For the first time, the Los Angeles Horticultural Heritage Garden and the Women’s 20th Century Club of Eagle Rock are putting on a self-guided tour of five gardens in the Eagle Rock neighborhood. Tickets are $45 for adults and $20 for kids ages 11 to 15 with an adult ticketholder and free for kids ages 5 to 10 with an adult ticketholder. eventbrite.com
May 16 and May 30
Restore + Explore: Forest Bathing, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in San Marino. Certified Forest Therapy Guide Debra Wilbur aims to help quiet the mind and body of visitors in the style of the Japanese tradition of Shinrin-yoku. Tickets are $40 for members and $50 for the general public include access to the garden. huntington.org
May 17
My Journey with Operculicarya, 1 p.m. in Palos Verdes Peninsula. Longtime horticulturist Joe Stead, a full-time staff member and part-time instructor at Orange Coast College’s horticulture department, will speak about a plant he has studied. Tickets are free for members, $18 for nonmember adults, $14 for students and seniors, and $8 for children. southcoastcss.org
May 21
San Gabriel Valley Orchid Hobbyist Annual Auction at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 6 to 9 p.m. in Arcadia. The local group is putting on an auction in the Arboretum’s Palm Room. Admission is free. sgvoh.org
May 22
Cultivate: Movement! at Descanso Gardens, 7 to 10 p.m. in La Cañada Flintridge. Guests can wander the grounds and find performances and installations that explore how plants, animals and humans move through the world. Tickets range from $10 to $40, depending on age and membership status. descansogardens.org
May 23
Seed Collection at Santa Fe Dam, 9 to 11 a.m. in Irwindale. Join the Altadena Seed Library and the San Gabriel Mountains Chapter of the California Native Plant Society in a native seed collection practice. altadenaseedlibrary.com
May 23
Native Plant Wonders: Guided Garden Tour, 11 to 11:30 a.m. in San Pedro. Learn expert tips on growing and caring for native plants in a variety of habitats. Meet at the White Point Nature Education Center. pvplc.org
May 29
“A Bug’s Life” screening at the Audubon Center at Debs Park, 6 to 9:30 p.m. in Montecito Heights. Catch a free outdoor screening of the beloved children’s movie at the Northeast Los Angeles park and enjoy free popcorn. audubon.org
May 30
Spring Blooms Tour at Descanso Gardens, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in La Cañada Flintridge. The gardens horticulture department will guide a walking tour throughout the space, emphasizing plants in bloom. Tours may include off-path exploration and are free with admission; no required registration. descansogardens.org
May 31
DIY Medicinal Herbs & Tincture Workshop, 1 to 3 p.m. in Boyle Heights. Emily Gogol will lead participants through creating THC and CBD tinctures and discuss growing cannabis plants in a backyard or patio situation. Tickets are $25. latinxwithplants.com
May 31
Milkweed Planting and Seed Swap at the Pasadena Library, Hastings Branch, 2 to 4 p.m. in Pasadena. Plant monarch-benefiting native milkweed and trade seeds for other plants with fellow visitors. altadenaseedlibrary.com
What we’re reading
L.A. Times staff writer Lisa Boone’s fun look at a British expat’s Glendale garden filled with plants that are native to our region.
Scientists say there is an increasing chance of a historic El Niño weather event later this year, as Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth explains.
Times staff writer Deborah Netburn’s list of the best things to do in South Pasadena, including visiting the sprawling Moreton Bay fig tree known as the “Library Tree.”
