Come For The Beauty. Stay For The Stench.

Florophiles were on high alert. The rare Corpse Flower, which only blooms every 3-5 years, was due to burst forth at any moment inside the Flower Conservatory. The event would last mere hours, and be accompanied by the thick smell of rotting flesh. The sickly aroma is designed to attract pollinators, and apparently, San Franciscans. Tickets instantly sold out, and 9,000 people viewed the plant in bloom.

The photo above is from the last time Scarlet bloomed, in 2023. Impressive.

I was working. By the time I saw Scarlet she'd seen better days. Or better hours.

A staff member in full corpse flower regalia during a previous bloom. I believe this was the year the plant was named Chanel.

Luckily there was still plenty of nearby beauty to point my camera, and my nose, toward.

If you missed Scarlet's grand performance, you could still pick up the tote bag.

The real show was the nearby Dahlia Garden, where half the garden was in colorful bloom.

That's it. Get outside and enjoy yourself!