LANDSCAPE DESIGN Less opulence, more water-wise succulents and green-living ideas at this year's event By Joe Eaton and Ron Sullivan, Special to The Chronicle April 3, 2011 ...

If you have dutifully swapped out your lawn and flower gardens for water-miserly cactus and succulents, you can be excused for feeling a tad nostalgic for the lush, the scented, the flowering.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) Michael Reining / 500px / Getty Images Vibrant orange and incredibly easy to grow, California’s state flower is about as drought-tolerant as they come.

California Poppy Day on Friday, April 6, 2018, is a chance to celebrate the state flower. The holiday was established in 2010. There is also Poppy Week in May.