March 29, 2026 – Garden Tour 10A – 6P

🌿 Garden Tour Details

• 📅 Sunday, March 29
• 🕙 Self-guided tour: 10:00 AM – 4:00 P
• Visit gardens in any order, at your own pace in communities of Redondo Beach, Torrance, Hawthorne, Lomita, and Gardena
• Adjourn to The Gardena Willows at 4:30 (starting at 4:00 for early arrivals) for Poppy Hour until 6PM with raffle drawings, photo contest results, and informative talks about the Willows.

Purchase Tickets + full details:

• https://cnps-south-coast.square.site/

Latest Updates

• Day-of-tour contact number: removed until 2027 (text message or call)
• 3/25: A third preview
• 3/24: Another preview
• 3/22: See the preview and stay tuned for more previews.
• 3/15: Sharp-eyed readers have noted that we initially didn’t share the cities where the homes are located.  That information has now been added.
• 3/13/2026: Tickets on sale NOW!

Join the South Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) for our Poppy Day Native Garden Tour, a self-guided tour featuring 10+ inspiring gardens of the South Bay filled with pollinator-friendly blooms, water-wise design ideas, and the kind of biodiversity that makes our region shine. The tour is followed immediately by Poppy Hour at the Gardena Willows, a free event.   Limit numbers of tickets available.  Ticket prices higher on the day of the event.

Why native gardens?

• When we landscape with California natives, we’re doing more than planting pretty flowers: we’re supporting local wildlife, conserving water, and protecting our natural heritage for future generations.

Raffle Prizes and Photo Contest

• Raffle: Receive one complimentary raffle ticket.with every garden tour ticket
  • Additional raffle tickets will be available for purchase on tour day at select garden locations. $1 per ticket (cash only).  Raffle drawing during Poppy Hour at the Willows following the tour.
• 📸 Photo Contest
  • Tour attendees submit their best photo(s) taken on the tour and tag them with #SCCNPSGardenTour. The winning photographer receives one of the prizes listed
• Prizes include:
  • A plant bundle donated by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (Five, 4-inch plants of the winner’s choice from the PVPLC nursery) https://pvplc.org/
  • A Monarch planting kit (native milkweed + pollinator plants) donated by Burrows and Bees https://www.instagram.com/burrowsandbeesnativeplants/
  • A plant bundle from Californica Nursery https://www.californicanursery.com

🌺 After-Tour: FREE Poppy Hour at Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve

📍 Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve
🌺 Poppy Hour: 4:00 PM (FREE, whether tour attendees or not)

Please RSVP for Poppy Hour so we can plan for food with a quick email to SouthCoastCNPS@gmail.com and the expected number of attendees.

At the Willows, come celebrate the day, enjoy light refreshments, connect with fellow plant lovers, and learn what’s happening at Gardena Willows. You’ll hear about the ongoing work to make the Willows a thriving ecological space and a place for community to gather, including a restoration project supported by the Southbay Parkland Conservancy to restore and maintain one acre of wetlands and uplands, in partnership with Surfrider South Bay, the City of Gardena, and Friends of Gardena Willows, and how you can get involved. We’ll also share how CNPS support and grants have helped Mother Nature’s Backyard demonstration garden at the Willows.

Light refreshments served at the Willows will include a few native plant–inspired treats.

🎟️ Additional raffle at Poppy Hour: Poppy Hour attendees receive one free raffle ticket for a plant prize. This raffle is separate from the Poppy Day Garden Tour raffle and is complimentary. No additional tickets will be sold for the Poppy Hour raffle.

💛 Your Tour Ticket Purchase Supports Local Work

Proceeds from the Garden Tour support our chapter’s programs, including:

• our monthly speaker series
• scholarships for local students
• the Conze Grant Program, which funds public native garden projects throughout our region

Tickets + full details:
https://cnps-south-coast.square.site/

We hope you’ll join us—on the tour, at Poppy Hour, or both!

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Where are my tickets?
  • A: Update 3/22: Tickets will start to be delivered by 3/23 via email.  Following 3/23, tickets typically arrive in the day following your purchase.  They may come from an unexpected address, so keep your eye on your junk / spam email folder.  Timing of the delivery is erratic because we don’t have an automated process to send them – last year all but a few went out within 24 hours of ticket purchase.   Please email us at SouthCoastCNPS@gmail.com if you don’t get tickets within 24 hours.  On the day of the event we will have a phone number for you to call with tour questions.
• Q: Why March 29th?
  • A: Our date is chosen to try to deconflict from the much larger Payne Foundation Tour (we’re fans) which typically occurs later in April.  We honor Poppy Day, which is April 6 every year, so we choose a date close to that.  We also try to avoid major holidays.
• Q: I’ve never heard of Poppy Day.  What is it?
  • A: Section 37222.12 of the California Education Code states: …On California Poppy Day, all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to conduct exercises honoring the California Poppy, including instruction about native plants, particularly the California Poppy, and the economic and aesthetic value of wildflowers; promoting responsible behavior toward our natural resources and a spirit of protection toward them; and emphasizing the value of natural resources and conservation of natural resources.
• Q: How long have you been doing a garden tour?
  • A: This is the second annual Poppy Day Garden Tour.  It’s a re-imagination of what was once an annual event for us.
• Q: Can I volunteer?
  • A: We are most definitely looking for volunteers who will help us carry out the tour. Please email SouthCoastCNPS@gmail.com to let us know your interest.  On the tour day last year, we had volunteers as hosts for gardens where the owners were not home or who didn’t want to host.  We were able to rotate volunteers between homes so that they could see more than one garden.  We could also use help before the event.
• Q: Can my garden be on the tour?
  • A: We already have houses for 2026, with both new and repeat gardens.  Please email SouthCoastCNPS@gmail.com to let us know your interest for 2027.
• Q: What are the requirements for gardens on the tour?
  • A: We adore native plants, of course, so your garden should feature them prominently – a target of 50% or more by species or area is desired.  However, there are special circumstances that make some gardens appealing even if there are fewer natives such as low water use, adjacency to public lands or preserves, habitat gardens, or gardens of  unique interest (for example one that solves a difficult problem or has an interesting design approach).