A young girl admires the variety of wildflowers at the Cambria Wildflower Show. Submitted photo
The old adage says, “April showers brings May flowers,” and folks in Cambria plan to celebrate the spring burst of life.
The 16th Annual Cambria Wildflower Show is set for noon-5 p.m. Saturday, April 27 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 28 at the Cambria Vet’s Hall, 1000 Main St.
Admission is $5 at the door and free for students of all ages. The show features the myriad of wild flowers that bloom on the Central Coast and ring in Spring and summer with bursts of vibrant colors.
“San Luis Obispo County is rich with wildflowers,” reads a news release from Friends of Fiscalini Ranch, who organize the flower show, “and there’s no better place to understand the full range of botanical beauty.”
The show takes visitors on a “comprehensive tour of the flora diversity of Northern San Luis Obispo County from the Monterey County line to the Morro Bay Estuary and from the coastal bluffs to the ridge of the Santa Lucia Mountains. It showcases the remarkable range of floral colors, scents, and sizes found right here in SLO County,” the Friends Group said.
The show features hundreds of bouquets of fresh flowers arranged by plant family and labeled with botanical and common names. It features rare and endangered, invasive and poisonous plants; and an array of antique bottles and interesting vases holding the specimens.
A woman tends to one of the displays at the
Cambria Wildflower Show. Submitted photo
There will be botanists on hand to answer questions and identify photos of wildflowers, and treats and light fare from the “Wildflower Café.” There will also be field guides, seeds and merchandise for sale from the Friends of Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and the California Native Plant Society.
The show is sponsored by Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and seeks to “enhance the public’s enjoyment of wildflowers by highlighting the county’s flora diversity and aiding in identification.”
And in case readers are wondering about rare plants being picked for a flower show, “Permitted and trained teams of collectors collect the flowers from habitats with large populations so that people can learn to enjoy plants in their natural habitats without picking the flowers themselves,” the Friends explained.
The Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve was founded “to protect and restore a 430-acre jewel of public open space on California’s Central Coast,” the non-profit group said. The group’s mission, “is to protect the beauty of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and sustain its diversity of life for everyone to enjoy.”
The Fiscalini Ranch is a large open space parcel located on the Cambria Coast. See: fiscaliniranchpreserve.org for more information.
