Spring in LA: 10 Stunning Places to See Flowers in Bloom Right Now

Happy first day of Spring! To celebrate Spring flowers, we’ve collected the best spots to see beautiful blooms now and throughout the year.

Where to See Poppies in Bloom in LA

• Location: Lancaster
• Fun fact: Poppies are the state flower of California.
• Poppies are already blooming along the hills in Lancaster! Check out the orange-tinted hills in the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve through their blooming season, mid-February through May. Not enough poppy for you? Celebrate the blooming season at the California Poppy Festival at the AV Fair and Event Center April 17-19. 

Where to Seet Tulips in Bloom in LA

• Location: La Cañada Flintridge
• Fun fact: The tulip fields in Wicked’s opening scene contained 9 million tulips specially planted for the film.
• Act fast! Tulips are in peak bloom right now, and the end of the blooming season - February through early April - is coming up fast. The best place to see them in LA is Descanso Gardens, which houses more than 35,000 tulips in a stunning explosion of color. You can also enjoy other Spring blooms at Descanso including irises, azaleas, daffodils, and magnolias. 

Where to See Cherry Blossoms in Bloom in LA

• Location: Torrance
• Fun fact: Your average cherry blossom tree lives 15-30 years, but some species can live much longer, with the oldest living tree estimated to be 2,000 years old.
• In addition to all of LA’s botanic gardens, check out gorgeous cherry blossom blooms at Torrance’s Columbia Park. This is also where the annual Cherry Blossom Cultural Festival takes place! This year’s March 29th festival will highlight Japanese culture, music, and dance, and will include food trucks and a craft fair.

Where to See Wildflowers in Bloom in LA

• Location: Chino Hills
• Fun fact: Superblooms take place only in desert landscapes where dormant wildflower seeds germinate and blossom at the same time, typically after an unusually wet rainy season.
• California is tentatively expecting (read: hoping for) a superbloom this year. You’ll be able to see blooms all around, even on the side of the freeway on occasion, but if you want the full experience head over to Chino HIlls State Park for a view of flowers like morning glory, cliff aster, and chia. If you really want your socks knocked off, head North about 3.5 hours to Carrizo Plain National Monument for a stunning array of colored wildflowers along the mountains. This year’s expected peak will be mid-March to April.
• Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival

Where to See Wisteria in Bloom in LA

• Sierra Madre
• Fun fact: Although known for its purple color, variations of wisteria produce pink, blue, or white blooms.
• Right in our backyard is the world’s largest blossoming plant - a Chinese wisteria vine covering about 1 acre and weighing upwards of 250 tons. This particular plant is celebrated annually at the Sierra Madre Wistaria Festival, this year on March 28. If you miss it, don’t fret! Wisteria’s blooming season in SoCal runs through May.

Where to See Roses in Bloom in LA

• Location: Exposition Park
• Fun fact: In 1998, a few lucky roses traveled to space in the name of science. It turns out they smell different in low gravity!
• Roses love LA’s year-round sun and sandy soil, which is why you may find them scattered around your neighborhood. Blooming season in SoCal runs from late March to early May. One of LA’s best displays of roses is available to the public at Exposition Park’s 7-acre rose garden featuring more than 15,000 roses of different colors and varieties. 

Where to See Lavender in Bloom in LA

• Locaiton: Cherry Valley
• Fun fact: Lavender was used to ward off bubonic plague, which may have actually helped thanks to its antibacterial properties.
• Although you’ll probably already see Lavender blooming, its peak season in SoCal is June to July. Fanatics of the popular scent can sniff to their heart’s content at the annual Lavender Festival, running from June 5 to July 19 this year. The festival is held at 123 Farm in Cherry Valley, about 2.5 hours East of Downtown LA.

Where to See Clarkias in Bloom in LA

• Location: Westwood
• Fun fact: This plant is named after William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame).
• Although technically a native California wildflower in its own right, this pink-blooming plant is also a garden plant and is a favorite of pollinators. Because they bloom at the tail end of the wildflower season - toward late May to June - they are also known by the name, Farewell-to-Spring. You can see them in a lot of local areas with diverse wildflowers, but to get a good look check out the Clarkia Flower Festival at the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden on May 17. 

Where to See Plumerias in Bloom in LA

• Location: Arcadia
• Fun fact: This flower is widely used in Hawaiian leis.
• Plumerias have a long blooming season in SoCal, from March to October. You can enjoy the long months of these elegant blooms at the LA County Arboretum, which is home to the largest plumeria grove on the West Coast. The arboretum also hosts an annual Plumeria Festival, expected this year July 17-18.

Where to See Bougainvillea in Bloom in LA

• Location: Brentwood
• Fun fact: The beautiful magenta color does not actually come from flowers! The colorful “petals” are actually leaves called bracts that surround tiny white or yellow flowers.
• You’ve probably never heard of it, but you’ll know it when you see it. This vine turns a stunning magenta during the lengthy blooming season of early Spring through late Fall. You might see it around your neighborhood, but if you’re dying for a closer look you’ll find it at the Getty’s Central Garden playing treetop to the iron sculptures’ trunks.