Greer's OC

All of spring’s blooming glory will be on display today through Sunday at the 24th Annual Southern California Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza. All three levels of South Coast Plaza’s Crate & Barrel/Macy’s Home Store Wing will feature display gardens created by renowned landscape architects, designers and university horticulture students. “The Garden as Art” theme relate to an artist, period of art, or one renowned piece. Make a visit to the four-day free show and also shop from more than 85 specialty garden lifestyle vendors offering everything from exotic plants to the latest garden accessories.

A Speaker Series will feature 30 different seminars with experts sharing topics like “Herbal Gardens for your Pantry,” “Backyard Bees—Keeping Hives Alive,” “Monet’s Gardening & Painting at Giverny,” “Fabulous Fairy Gardens” and gardening expert Pat Welsh will be speaking on “The Art of the Patio.”

For kids, arts and crafts hosted by master gardeners will include themes such as ladybugs, plant your own flowers and carnivorous plants; interactive storytellers, and nature-oriented demonstrations at the children’s suite on level 3.
The crown jewel will be a 20-foot tall floral centerpiece, inspired by Andy Warhol interpretation of Botticelli's Venus and designed by Fiesta Floats of Arcadia.

Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
                       
3333 Bear Street in Costa Mesa. 800.782.8888.

Action Sports Series at NBFF

With Orange County’s roots in the surf wear and action gear industry, it’s fitting that the Newport Beach Film Fest would lead the country in action sports cinema events.

The incredible NBFF Action Sports Film Series screen 18 films from around the world that tell compelling stories of surfing, stand up paddle surfing, paddle boarding, skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, motocross and other extreme sports from a historical, physical, and emotional perspective. 

Highlights of series include “Birdmen: The Original Dream of Flight,”  a documentary about wingsuit skydivers screening at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Fashion Island Cinema; “Isolated,”  a film about a group of intrepid surfers searching for the world’s last undiscovered waves, narrated by Ryan Phillipe screening on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at The Triangle; and “The Motivation” a chronicling of eight of the world’s best pro-skateboarders as they prepare for the upcoming Street League Championship in New York City screening on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at The Triangle, starring skateboarding pros like Rob Dyrdek, Paul

Tickets to individual screenings cost $14. For tickets, passes, schedule, full synopses and trailers visit www.nbffACTION.com or www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com.