CNPS Monterey Bay Annual Wildflower Show

April 22 – 23, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Carmel Woman’s Club

 San Carlos Street & Ninth Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea

The 2023 Wildflower Show will take place on April 22 and 23 at the Carmel Woman’s Club, on San Carlos Street and Ninth (south west corner) in Carmel, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Learn about the county’s plants by way of books for sale, free handouts and from local wildflower experts. Snapshots are allowed and artists are welcome.

Come see specimens of what is blooming throughout Monterey County – you will be amazed and hopefully inspired to go see them for yourself!

The 59th Annual Wildflower Show on April 9-10, 2022

This year’s Show was a break from the nearly 60-year traditional wildflower show as to name, location, and instead of the third weekend of April, it will take place on the second. With the recent relaxation of the pandemic protocols, we are delighted to again present a wildflower tour of the county displayed in glass containers, arranged by plant family, identified by common name, scientific name (including recent name changes), whether native, introduced and/or invasive, as well as other potentially interesting bits of information. It’s a chance to marvel at plants’ shapes, sizes, colors, aromas, structures and where they chose to grow; share stories, ask questions, even get help figuring out the name of the plant in your photo. Even after a very dry season, we were able to display an amazing variety of taxa at a new venue.

The 58th Annual Wildflower Show on April 19-21, 2019

Co-chairs Brian LeNeve and Michael Mitchell hosted the Annual Wildflower Show at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. This winter’s rainfall had made up for the unusually late start and was a fine wildflower season. We were privileged to put on a spectacular show with over 700 specimens on display

The 57th Annual Wildflower Show was held on April 20-22, 2018

After an exceptionally dry winter, March finally produced meaningful rainfall but was unseasonably cool, as was early April. As a result, the wildflowers were several weeks later than normal and, despite March’s rain, good displays of wildflowers were few and far between. Despite this, our intrepid collectors managed to find about 675 different species to display. Our “best in show” went to a particularly fine example of the Most Beautiful Jewelflower (Streptanthus glandulosus subsp. glandulosus) collected by Brian & Carol Le Neve. Here are some pictures of the show, including some especially striking flowers, our best in show and our perennial joke which lays claim to being the most photographed flower in the show and is a sad commentary on the organizers’ sense of humor.

Setting up the show is an intensive team effort, requiring the initial unpacking and identifying of hundreds of plants, detailed examination and keying out of difficult specimens and not least finding the right card to accompany the plant as it is goes out on to the floor.