Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

The Santa Barbara International Orchid Show big spring event – the one that even made it to the movies via Adaptation – has the most concentrated, commercialized displays of the exotic flowers anywhere in the area. But this weekend, you can visit the place where two of the local growers have long cultivated and created the plants in their mid-summer open houses. 

Santa Barbara Orchid Estate’s three-day event this year centers around a memorial for Founder Paul Gripp, who passed away just before this year’s Orchid Show, with a public event on the Central Lawn starting at 4 pm, with “Paul-appropriate refreshments” served starting at 2 pm “to encourage conviviality.” The regular open house at the specialty retail nursery featuring orchids for outdoor growing and landscaping in coastal California takes place 8 am to 4 pm on July 17 & 18, and 9 am to 3:30 pm on July 19. Visit www.sborchid.com

At the other end of Orchid Drive, Cal-Orchid’s famous “Summer Hummer” runs 9 am to 5 pm from July 17-19, drawing orchid collectors for celebration, sales seminars and culture classes. Visit www.calorchid.com