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Sacramento Boomer

The 10 Spot: Flower Spotting

It’s not always rainbows and butterflies—unless it’s spring. Then it’s also sunshine, birds, and lots and lots of flowers. Slow down and savor the season at the places below.
UC Davis Arboretum’s Gateway Garden is full of vibrant poppies, gilia, goldfields, and yellow tarweeds. Near the teaching nursery—with plant sales on April 4 and 26—is the Hummingbird Garden; Storer Garden has flowering shrubs, succulents, and roses; while the South African collection features unique and often strange flowers. Some events to catch this month are the Annual Picnic Day Celebration (April 18) and Wednesday Walk with Warren (April 8). arboretum.ucdavis.edu
African Conebush


The delightful flower, Sweet Dreams Coreopsis, was discovered at Flower Farm in Loomis. They’re hosting Earth Month each weekend in April with pop-up fairs (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) featuring local, handmade art, earth-friendly products and services, gardening info, garden tours, live music, and workshops. Peruse their nursery for unusual perennials and succulents. Their plants are bee-friendly, butterfly-attracting and water-wise. flowerfarminn.com
At Sherwood Demonstration Garden in Placerville, you’ll find kerria, flowering maple, wall flowers, carnations, and butterfly bushes. April brings free classes to the public like an open garden, guided tours, and observatory safe solar viewing on April 4 (9 a.m.-noon), Open Garden Day on April 11 (9 a.m.-noon), and the Annual Plant Sale on April 18 with a selection of perennial plants, shrubs, trees, natives, vegetables, herbs, and succulents. mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/demonstration_garden
Butterfly Bush


The California State Capitol World Peace Rose Garden in Sacramento was voted “7th Best Public Rose Garden in the USA” by the All-American Rose Selections—and for good reason. The Victorian-designed garden features about 650 roses in over 140 colors and fragrances. It’s a feast for the senses, with a courtyard, fountain, and glimpses of the Veterans Memorial Hall and the State Capitol. Additionally, 44 Inspirational Messages of Peace have been engraved on plaques throughout the garden. worldpeacerosegardens.org 


Amador Flower Farm in Plymouth boasts over 1,200 daylily varieties—hardy, evergreen plants that come in all shapes, colors, sizes, and bloom cycles, and known for their attractive flowers. Their Spring Fling event on April 6 and 7 will allow you to take a stroll through demo gardens, shop in the nursery and gift shop, and buy a burger at the local 4H Kids’ Fundraiser. amadorflowerfarm.com
Daffodil Hill in Sutter Creek is not opening this year, but 10,000 daffodils will grace the hamlet of Sutter Creek this spring and many thousands more will bloom throughout Amador County through mid-April. Make a day trip out of it and head to the Wildflowers and Wine event on April 5 that will have you sipping fine wine, listening to live music, experiencing live art, and enjoying some delicious food. suttercreek.org
High Sierra Iris & Wedding Gardens in Camino is a hillside of irises—also called the “Grand Ladies of the Garden.” Visitors will be greeted by vibrant colors (white, yellow, purple, blue, pink, and orange) in May. There are over 1,000 varieties or irises in the garden plus hundreds of daylilies, blooming shrubs, and trees. The gardens are free and open seven days a week. weddingsnflowers.com
The Charles C. Jensen Botanical Gardens in Carmichael exhibit flora including camellias, dogwoods, azaleas, and rhododendrons. One of the jewels of Carmichael, they also have Myriad varieties of magnolias and dogwoods, Japanese maples, and thousands of tulips. The botanical garden has a nature path for the blind where visually impaired and disabled visitors can feel different textures and experience unique fragrances of various plants. carmichaelpark.com/jensen-botanical-garden
The Cosumnes River Preserve in Galt has magnificent vernal pools that exist only in California’s Mediterranean climate and support flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. The Vernal Pool and Wildflower hikes at the Rancho Seco Howard Ranch Trail on April 18 and 25 will feature said vernal pools and the opportunity to walk through open grasslands where wildflowers carpet the landscapes. cosumnes.org
Orange Blossoms


A little ways off in the El Dorado National Forest the Carson Pass Round Top Botanical Area will show off wildflowers that have been blooming for the past 10-12 thousand years. You’ll find wildflowers like monkeyflower, paintbrush, Sierra primrose, meadow larkspur, and irises. For the best sights, start at the Carson Pass information station. Flowers will begin to bloom closer to July.
209-258-8606

By Tara Mendanha

Special Notice

As we were going to print, there was a lot happening regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and many events were being postponed or cancelled.
Please be sure to call or check online for updates.