Floral Fantasy

El Nin~o has breathed long life into local flower blooming, so why not make your weekend a floral fantasy?

Friday

Start the afternoon at the Huntington Library, where thousands of roses will be at their peak at the Rose Festival, Friday through April 26. Festival events include lectures, nature crafts for kids, plant sales and more. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Noon to 4:30 p.m. weekdays; 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekends. Library closed Mondays. Adults, $8.50; seniors, $7; students, $5; free for children under 12. (626) 405-2141.

Situated in the middle of all the floral splendor is the Huntington’s Rose Garden Tea Room. Be sure to make reservations for English tea in this charming setting. $11 per person. (626) 683-8131.

Saturday

The Huntington library’s colorful blooms provide the perfect backdrop for another special event. A Celebration of “Lyrical Ballads,” 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., commemorates the 200th anniversary of the publication of “Lyrical Ballads” by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. A highlight of this literary conference will be a reading of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by actor John Lithgow. $10 registration fee. Optional buffet lunch $12. (626) 405-2194 for schedule information and registration.

Or take the day to check out some of the area’s kaleidoscopic wildflower offerings. Whether you’re a first-timer or an veteran, Sun Valley’s Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants is a great place to start. The nonprofit organization runs a 23-acre wildflower sanctuary. Free tours of Flowerhill are offered all day Saturdays and Sundays by reservation. The foundation also has a bookstore with guidebooks, a nursery that stocks native plants and seeds and an educational facility offering workshops, field trips and speakers. 10459 Tuxford St., Sun Valley. Wednesday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (818) 768-1802.

If you would rather strike out on your own, the Payne Foundation offers a free wildflower hotline with information about which blooms are where: (818) 768-3533. The hotline is updated every Thursday evening.

Or walk among the flowers in the Santa Monica Mountains at the annual Soka University of America Wildflower Walk, 9:30 to 11 a.m., led by Thousand Oaks landscape architect Tom Kaye. The tour will feature a discussion of the geological history of the area, the significance of native flora to Chumash inhabitants, identifications of plants and more. Botanical Center, 26800 W. Mulholland Highway, on the university’s Calabasas campus. Free. (818) 878-3741.

Sunday

Celebrate California’s fiery state flower at the seventh annual California Poppy Festival, which continues Sunday in Antelope Valley with entertainment by jazz greats Stanley Clarke and Stanley Jordan, comedy performances, a children’s carnival, flower and garden markets, environmental displays, wildflower information booths, arts and crafts, food and more. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lancaster City Park, 43011 N. 10th St. W., Lancaster. Take the Avenue L or Avenue K exit from the Antelope Valley Freeway and follow the signs. $4 for ages 13 to 61; $2 for ages 62 and older and children ages 6 to 12; ages 5 and under free. Parking $2 with free shuttle to main gate. (805) 723-6077.

While you’re there, tour the the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve by air or on foot. Helicopter rides over the 1,700-acre reserve (which is situated about 15 miles west of Lancaster) will be offered for $35 at the festival. Or tour the preserve on your own. First, take the Antelope Freeway to the Avenue I exit. Follow Avenue I (which becomes Lancaster Road) for about 15 miles to the reserve entrance on the right side. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends through mid-May. $5 per vehicle. (805) 724-1180.