Today I saw Matilija poppies blooming for the first time this spring.  This was at the L.A. Zoo parking lot in Griffith Park.  They will be really spectacular in the next month or so.  This photo isn't mine - it's from Wikipedia.  I was in too big of a hurry to get home to stop.

Matilija poppies are a native plant to Southern California.  The flowers themselves are really big and resemble fried eggs.  The stalks are very long.  I've seen them as high as 6 feet.    I've seen them for sale during the fall at Cal Poly Pomona's Farm Store http://www.csupomona.edu/~farmstore/ as well as at Theodore Payne plant sales http://store.theodorepayne.org/.  Check out more plants at the zoo at http://www.lazoo.org/botanicalgardens/