Oakland Museum of California’s Wildflower Show
1000 Oak Street, Oakland
100% native
Years on Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour New this year!
Showcase feature:
A popular spring tradition at the Museum, the fragrant and colorful Wildflower Show offers a profusion of freshly gathered native wildflowers on display, in arrangements, and dissected for study. Savor the colors and fragrance of approximately 250 species of fresh-cut wildflowers from across the state, such as asters, primrose, sage, thistle, and wild ginger. The bloom is definitely on the lilies, orchids, and poppies, which chime in for a riot of blues and hues.
Other garden attractions:
- NOTE: On Sunday, May 3, the Museum is open from 12:00 am – 5:00 pm. The Wildflower Show can also be viewed on Saturday, May 2 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, and on Friday, May 1, from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Show your garden guide to receive $1 off regular museum admission.
- California Native Plant Society volunteers will be on hand to answer questions.
- This year the Wildflower Show is within the exhibition Future of Sequoias: Sustaining Parklands in the 21st Century, which includes large panoramic photographic prints, plus interactive and interpretive displays.
- Bathrooms are available!
Gardening for Wildlife:
The flowers are labeled if they are nectar sources for butterflies or hummingbirds, or food for caterpillars. Typically milkweeds are brought in for the show that have monarch caterpillars on them. These can be observed to fatten noticeably over the course of the weekend. Dissections of flowers will be available for bug's-eye viewing through microscopes.
Garden Talks
The weekend includes slide shows and lectures, at which you can learn how to plant and preserve California’s native plants in home gardens. For program details see www.museumca.org.
Directions
The Museum is one block from Lake Merritt BART.
From the south, take I-880 north to the Oak Street exit. Turn right on Oak and go four blocks to 10th Street. The museum is on the right.
From the north, take I-80 south, take ramp to 580 east. In about a mile, take 980 towards Downtown Oakland; just before the merge with 880, exit on the Jackson Street exit. (You will be on 5th Street.) Continue on 5th Street to the third stoplight (Oak), and turn left. Continue on Oak to 10th Street.
Parking
Parking is available for a fee in the underground garage, which is entered from Oak Street.