Today I attended the 103rd Annual Coronado Flower Show in Coronado, California. The show’s theme was “Cirque des Fleurs” — “a whimsical celebration inspired by the magic of vintage circuses and the elegance of floral artistry.” According to their website, this is the longest-running community event in Coronado and the largest tented flower show in the US.

On the way in, I joked to Second Nephew that crazy cat ladies have nothing on crazy flower ladies. Sure enough, as I was taking a picture of a particularly vibrant arrangement, my phone brushed a blossom, and a lady with a clipboard materialized out of nowhere to admonish me: “Miss! Miss! Please move your phone. It’s touching the bloom!” The thing is, of course, she was right. It hadn’t even occurred to me, and I’m glad she said something. I apologized profusely, and she visibly composed herself before walking over to the plant in question. I was horrified, thinking she was checking it for damage or, I don’t know, putting it down for having been polluted. Instead, she moved the little white flower so I could get my picture. Sweet lady.

I admire people who are passionate about their craft like that. Sure they can seem like fussy, obsessive scolds from the outside, but they’re also the people putting in the work to keep events like this going — and, by extension, engaging and beautifying the community. Besides, from the proud floriculturists standing next to their entries, to the line dancers repping the senior center at the pavilion, to the patient volunteers helping kids make their own nosegays, it turns out a flower show is a fantastic people-watching opportunity. I don’t think I’ll become a flower show regular, but I’m happy to have stumbled across this one.

Have some pictures (the miniatures were my favorite)!

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Have a great Night Thread, Avocados! Be sure to stop and smell the roses . . . and the orchids . . . and the birds of paradise . . . and the lilac . . . and the bougainvillea, and . . . well, you get the idea.