Filoli Gardens

Stories in Bloom

Nita Winter will be sharing stories of her life and work

Sunday, June 11th 2 - 3 pm

 Programs are free with Filoli admission; reservation required due to limited space.

Tickets available here.

 

       
Join us and 11 other artists at the beautiful Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross.

Special clearance prices on art work of all sizes. Purchase signed books, notecards and floral jewelry.                                 

We are participating in Marin Open Studios. We'd love to see you this weekend, or next weekend, at the Marin Art and Garden Center's gallery in Ross. The gardens are beautiful as usual, with an abundance of colorful blossoms. The lovely pink and white dogwoods are in full bloom, along with many other plants. You can visit their native plant garden. We'll be showing work with 11 other artists in the MAGC gallery, that is on the right after you enter you enter the Center.

Please stop by to for a visit. In addition to signed books, notecards, and floral jewelry, we will be offering SPECIAL clearance prices for both paper and metal prints of all sizes.

Our featured flower is the Coastal California poppy. It is a recent addition to our growing (no pun intended) native plant garden. The milkweed, Pacific aster and purple needle grass are spreading like crazy and filling in our long empty spaces in our yards, both front and back.

Marin Open Studios

Two Weekends: May 6 -7 & 13 - 14
11 AM - 6 PM
30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross CA 

A New, Stunning Addition to Our
Native Plant Garden 

Our first Coastal California poppy (Eschscholzia californica var. maritima) blossom during Wednesday's rain. We received over an inch of rain in 48 hours, pretty good storm for this late in our rain season. The plants just love it after a few dry weeks.

This perennial, coastal form of the California poppy is low growing and spreading with beautiful, finely cut, blue-gray foliage. As you can see the coastal version of the California poppy is predominantly yellow, with four orange spots, similar to the orange color of the inland California poppy people are familiar with.

We purchased this plant at Annie's Annuals and Perennials Nursery in Richmond, CA. Annie's has a huge native plant section. They are only one of many nurseries offering native plants in California.

Visit Blooming! California to find a nursery near you.

 

The dazzling, troubling history of California super bloom tourism.

The Guardian, Katharine Gammon, May 4, 2023

This year’s California wildflower super bloom is a historic phenomenon, brought on by an unprecedented wet winter. Miles of golden-orange poppies, purple desert sand-verbena and pink filaree are visible from space. This time of year it seems that everywhere from remote corners of the desert to drab highway medians are bursting with color.....  READ MORE

Each garden is an expression of its relationship with nature. Transforming a city or suburban yard from a conventional lawn into a place for native plants is a joyful manifestation of your desire to work closely with nature.

Whether converting an entire lot or planting a few pots, you can take pride in making a meaningful and long-lasting contribution to the urban environment, set a beautiful example for others, and connect to both California’s botanical heritage and its climate-resilient future.

~ Kitty Connolly

Excerpt from Kitty's short story: Wildflowers at Home in our wildflower book.

 

Other Upcoming Events

Annie's Annuals and Perennials

BUTTERFLY SUMMIT!

Saturday, May 20th, 10am to 3pm

740 Market Ave., Richmond CA

Event: Rain or shine BUT we won't be there if it's raining.

Do you love seeing our beautiful wildflower images?

Image if you can't see them.

Please help us make our beautiful wildflower coffee table book accessible to the visually impaired through our unique, audio-described version of the book.

Experience our audio-description sample here:

Our Sacred Datura Image and How We Made It.

Donations are greatly appreciated through MarinLink.

For online donations: please enter "Beauty and the Beast" as the Active Project name at the top of the form.

For checks: payable to MarinLink. Make sure to add "Beauty and the Beast" to the memo field. Mail to:

MarinLink

5800 Northgate Mall, Suite 250
San Rafael, CA 94903

More than pretty pictures

This special book, co-published with the California Native Plant Society, is a true collaboration of many hearts and minds. Leading voices in the conservation movement contributed thoughtful, personal short stories. 

Our authors include Jose Gonzales of Latino Outdoors, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, and Mary Ellen Hannibal, author of Citizen Science. Peter Raven, former Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, graciously wrote our Foreword and the book's essay, "The Origin of California's Wonderful Plants."

Please tell a friend, and help us spread the word.

Thank you for support! Thank you for caring!

Nita Winter and Rob Badger

Learn more, purchase books or contact us at 

www.wildflowerbooks.com