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Why is the ‘Bachelorette’ canceled? A guide to the Taylor Frankie Paul controversy

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Why is the ‘Bachelorette’ canceled? A guide to the Taylor Frankie Paul controversy

Taylor Frankie Paul attends the Oscars on Sunday, a week ahead of her scheduled Bachelorette premiere.

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The new season of ABC’s reality TV series The Bachelorette was all filmed and set to premiere on Sunday. But parent company Disney now says it will not air as planned.

The decision to shelve the show’s 22nd season came on Thursday, after TMZ published a video it says shows would-be bachelorette Taylor Frankie Paul physically attacking her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, in 2023.

“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” Disney Entertainment said in a statement reported by the Associated Press, New York Times and others.

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The video, filmed by Mortensen, appears to show Paul hitting, grabbing and throwing three barstools at him. A child can be heard crying on the couch nearby, and Mortensen says at one point: “Your daughter is sitting right there.”

Paul has three children: two with her ex-husband Tate Paul and one, born in 2024, with Mortensen. She confirmed the end of their three-year on-again, off-again relationship in May 2025. NPR has reached out to both of their representatives.

In a statement shared with NBC News, Paul’s representative called the video the “latest installment of [Mortensen’s] never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child.”

Paul’s representative told People in a statement that Paul is “exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story,” and “very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security.”

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Mortenesen told Entertainment Weekly that he categorically denies “these baseless claims about me and our relationship,” calling it “a deeply upsetting situation.”

“I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same,” he added.

NPR has not independently verified the authenticity of the video, which TMZ says was used as evidence in legal proceedings. But it matches Utah’s Herriman City Police Department’s description of a February 2023 incident that led to Paul’s arrest on charges of assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child.

Court records obtained by NPR show that Paul agreed to plead guilty to the third-degree felony of aggravated assault and has been serving 36 months of probation. When asked about the incident on a 2025 podcast, she acknowledged that her kids were present but said she “never had hurt” her daughter and “never intentionally did anything with my children.”

The couple’s turbulent relationship was a central plot point of the other reality TV show that made Paul famous: The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which premiered in 2024 and just released its fourth season last week.

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Earlier this week, People and other entertainment outlets reported that filming of the show’s fifth season had been halted amid reports of an investigation into domestic assault allegations involving Paul and Mortensen — presumably a separate incident, though details are scarce.

An unnamed spokesperson with Utah’s Draper City Police Department told People that “allegations have been made in both directions,” and “contact was made with involved parties” on Feb. 24 and 25, though declined to elaborate as the investigation is ongoing. NPR has reached out to Draper police, but did not hear back in time for publication.

There’s a lot we still don’t know. But if you’re just tuning in, we can help fill in some gaps.

(L-R) Jennifer Affleck, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews, Taylor Frankie Paul, and Miranda McWhorter of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" attend an event at SiriusXM Studios in May 2025.

(Left-right) Jennifer Affleck, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews, Taylor Frankie Paul, and Miranda McWhorter of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives attend an event at SiriusXM Studios in May 2025.

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Who are we talking about?

At the center of the controversy is Taylor Frankie Paul.

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She’s a 31-year-old influencer best known as the self-proclaimed creator of “MomTok,” a friend group-slash-collective of Utah-based Mormon moms that rose to social media fame in 2020.

They posted dance trends, beauty routines, skits and lifestyle videos to TikTok, promoting a more modern side of Mormonism and challenging its traditional gender roles. But it didn’t take long for controversy to strike, in the form of the 2022 “soft swinging scandal.”

The what scandal? 

Paul revealed in a May 2022 livestream video that she and her then-husband, Tate Paul, had been “soft swinging” with other couples in their social circle. She described it as “when you hook up but don’t go all the way.”

“The agreement was just like, as long as we were both there and we saw it and we knew it, it was okay, and the second it goes behind without each other, then you’ve stepped out of the agreement,” she said. “And I did that.”

Paul and her then-husband, who had been in an open relationship, divorced later that year (she called the swinging situation “the tip of the iceberg” of their problems). Her confession also caused rifts in the MomTok community, since she had claimed — without naming names — that other members were involved in the swinging group.

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When did Mortensen enter (and leave) the picture?

Paul and Mortensen confirmed their relationship on TikTok in September 2022, several months after she hinted at it online. It quickly turned rocky.

The couple broke up in December, then got back together in January 2023 — a month before the domestic violence incident that prompted Paul’s arrest. The relationship, while turbulent, continued, and Paul announced her pregnancy in September. Their son, Ever, was born in March 2024.

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the documentary-style show following Paul and her #MomTok circle, premiered on Hulu later that year.

The first season ended with the birth of Paul’s son and cliffhanger claims about Mortensen’s alleged infidelity, raised by another cast member, which he has denied. The two split in December 2024, but sparked reconciliation rumors the following spring. Their dynamic has remained a focus of the TV show, including in the most recent season.

What about these Mormon wives?

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, aka SLOMW, follows eight Mormon moms-slash-influencers (and their families) as they navigate marriages, friendships, faith and increasingly, the personal and professional pressures of fame.

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“I feel like if anything, it’s had a positive impact and it shows people that they don’t have to be perfect to be part of a religion, and be close to God and Jesus,” cast member Macyi Neeley told NPR last year.

Filming for the first season began in 2023, though paused and resumed after Paul’s arrest.

The first episode of its first season, which premiered in September 2024, shows Paul trying to smooth things over with the moms after the swinging scandal. It also covers the domestic violence incident, featuring body camera footage of police arresting a tearful Paul outside the house (though no footage of what transpired inside).

Hulu said the show’s premiere was its most-watched unscripted season debut of 2024, surpassing The Kardashians and leading to a rapid renewal of more episodes.

SLOMW has maintained a near-constant filming schedule, releasing two 10-episode seasons in 2025 and another earlier this month. Season four covers the fall of 2025, as Paul was preparing to film The Bachelorette.

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The show’s popularity has catapulted several of its stars, not just Paul, into other high-profile roles. Two cast members, Whitney Leavitt and Jennifer Affleck, appeared on Dancing with the Stars. Leavitt is now doing a stint as Roxie in Chicago on Broadway, and helped the show smash its box-office record this week.

How did Paul become The Bachelorette

Paul confirmed her relationship with Mortensen was officially over on a September 2025 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. That’s also where she announced she had been chosen as the bachelorette.

It was an unusual pick, not only because of Paul’s complicated relationship with her ex and her high profile, but because she hadn’t previously competed in the Bachelor franchise. That’s a first: Each bachelorette so far has been a fan-favorite contestant from the season of The Bachelor before it.

Disney is the parent company of both Hulu (SLOWM) and ABC (The Bachelorette). The choice to bring in an existing influencer-slash-reality star was seen as a move to revitalize the Bachelorette, which has seen a sharp decline in viewership in recent years. Part of that is, ironically, due to casting controversies including unexpected, post-season revelations about contestants on both sides of the rose.

What’s next for each show?

ABC plans to air a rerun of American Idol in the show’s place on Sunday. It’s not clear if Paul’s season of The Bachelorette will ever air. NPR has reached out to Disney for comment.

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It’s also not clear when or whether filming of SLOMW will resume. At a press event for The Bachelorette earlier this week, Paul weighed in on the production pause, telling People: “my heart hurts to see it, to go through it, especially at this time.”

“It’s a heavy time, and it’s unfortunate,” she continued. “I’m struggling for sure, but also at the same time I feel like if I don’t show up, then I’m just giving these opportunities away and not enjoying what we’ve worked on and something super exciting that’s coming.”

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L.A. Affairs: Everything was good. Then came the text I never wanted to get

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L.A. Affairs: Everything was good. Then came the text I never wanted to get

My father spent the 1970s selling hunger to America: soda, waffles, chips, anything that promised satisfaction in 30 seconds flat. He also weighed 450 pounds and was always on a new diet with me as his little diet coach. All his best material came from our kitchen table: “L’eggo my Eggo,” “Once You Pop, You Can’t Stop,” “Coke Is It” — the lines he’d toss out between bites.

My grandma Beauty did the opposite. She fed me comfort, one recipe at a time, until I believed emotions had a flavor. My dad could sell the American consumer comfort, but he couldn’t quite give that same safety to the girl sitting across from him. Between my dad, who treated cravings like a religion, and my grandmother, who treated food like therapy, I grew up thinking connection was something you could taste before you could name it.

So when I met my Bumble date years later after my divorce, it wasn’t fireworks. It was something quieter. A sense memory. A familiar click in the body before the mind catches up.

The first meal we ever shared was at Dan Tana’s: rare steak and shrimp swimming in oil and garlic. He ordered quickly, confidently, passing plates back and forth like this was something we’d always done. Somewhere in that meal, I felt that oyster-like disbelief when something simple tastes better than expected, and you pretend not to notice because the surprise feels too intimate to say out loud.

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After that night, we slipped into a rhythm. We went out to dinner a lot. Before I could even open a menu, he’d tell the waiter, “Sauce on the side, she eats like a celebrity,” making me feel adored, not demanding.

The dishes were always exquisite. Slow-roasted bone marrow, branzino laced with herbs, the kind of flavors that made us lean in and feed each other. He’d study my face and say, “Love it or hate it?,” shooting me a warm smirk.

On quieter dates, we watched movies in bed, talked about our kids, anything except for whatever was forming between us. On the nights I slept over, he’d bring me matcha lattes in the morning casually like it was no big deal, and every single time, I felt like I’d won an Academy Award.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!” I’d exclaim.

And he’d shake his head, amused. “You’re too easy to please.”

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But what he didn’t realize was remembering that I liked only a splash of milk and an extra shot of matcha fed a hunger in me I didn’t know I longed for.

Our banter was fun, constant and warm. Everything worked except for when a question leaned into the future. That’s when something tightened, a brief, instinctual clam-closing and then loosening again just as fast. But I kept going because the present was good. Because we laughed a lot. Because the world felt softer when I was with him.

Then one Sunday evening, I asked, “What are you doing for the Jewish holidays?” He gave a quick, unreadable flicker. It was gone before I could interpret it. We didn’t talk about it. We didn’t need to. We were both leaving for our own family week. When I returned excited to see him and celebrate a big work milestone I’d helped him prepare for, I got “the text.” Careful. Polite. And at the end, a line that blew a hole through my chest.

“I don’t see a romantic future with you.”

I read it again and again until my body revolted. A wave of heat shot through me. I wanted to scream but I just stood there frozen, unable to breathe, like someone had cracked open my chest and scooped the air out.

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Suddenly, I wasn’t a grown-up woman living in Hollywood. I wasn’t a mother, not a nutritionist, not someone who has taken care of people for years.

I was 9. I was in Chicago. It was 1975. I was in my grandma’s kitchen, the place I loved most in the world. The only place I ever remember feeling safe. My fingers were gripping her apron. The smell of dill wafting through the air. Her soup was bubbling. Nourishment, comfort, stability in the form of broth and steady hands. Then my mother’s voice sliced through it: “Dawn, get in the car.”

As I was pushed into the station wagon, there were boxes everywhere. Clio Awards, stacks of Playboy magazines with my dad’s byline, and when my mother slid in after me, she bumped into my dad’s cigarette and the ashes ignited the map — burning a hole straight through the Midwest. My stomach was in knots. I kept reaching my hand toward my grandmother.

“Don’t make me go.”

My mom, irritated, honked the horn, and my dad stepped on the gas.

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Standing in my kitchen decades later, looking at the text message, the same feeling of nausea washed over me. The ground shifted. My friends, trying to support me, started texting me. “Don’t you dare text him.”

But I did.

“Hi.”

He responded immediately. We met for Japanese that night, and without trying, we fell right back into our rhythm over Santa Barbara uni and lamb chops cooked exactly the way we like them, crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, the kind of dish that cracks when your knife hits it and then gives way like warm silk. We were not awkward. We were not mad. We were not resolved. We were two people who kept finding each other at a table, even when everything else was uncertain.

Then, somewhere between courses, he looked up and said, “You remind me of my mother.”

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The words hit something in me I couldn’t name. Not a wound, an internal flinch. He always told me his mother was unpredictable. Warm one moment, stormy the next. Comforting and chaotic in the same breath. I was none of those things. And I knew instantly that whatever he meant was tangled and that my warmth might feel like comfort to him, but also, unconsciously, like danger. That being cared for and being overwhelmed lived very close together in his body.

I didn’t take it personally. I took it as information. Maybe I felt familiar to him in a way that carried both safety and alarm. A green light and a red light at the same intersection. And the strangest thing was, in that same moment, he reminded me of my father, a man who could charm a room, feed America slogans that defined a generation, win awards and still feel shaky where it mattered most — with me.

Two grown-ups sitting across a table, mirroring childhood patterns that neither of us fully understood.

Later, when he drove me home, he dropped something heavy: his story, not mine to tell. The kind of truth that shifts the room without explaining the entire plot.

Sitting there in his car, I realized it was never just the two of us. We both brought our ghosts, and they probably showed up before we even opened our menus. Maybe that’s the real story. You can share the same cravings and still have to adjust the salt and heat as each new combination of flavors come together and unfold.

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The author is a nutritionist who wrote the bestselling book, “My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love and Family, With Recipes.” Find her on Instagram: @DawnLerman.

L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@latimes.com. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.

Editor’s note: On April 3, L.A. Affairs Live, our new storytelling competition show, will feature real dating stories from people living in the Greater Los Angeles area. Tickets for our first event are on sale now at the Next Fun Thing.

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Meet the billionaires who control your media : It’s Been a Minute

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Meet the billionaires who control your media : It’s Been a Minute
What happens when tech billionaires control the media you consume?With the help of his father, Paramount CEO David Ellison’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery has gained him a roster of franchises and networks, from Looney Tunes to CNN. But the sale hasn’t come without serious concerns, from data privacy to the rising costs of streaming services to what this means for workers in the entertainment industry. Brittany is joined by Mandalit Del Barco, NPR culture correspondent, and David Folkenflik, NPR media correspondent, to cut through the corporate drama and figure out what this deal means for all of us.Interested in more TV conversations? Check out these episodes: Sinners vs. One Battle After Another: who should win Best Picture?Melania Trump’s multi-million dollar “infomercial”Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.
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Get ideas for your home garden at these 19 spring garden tours around L.A.

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Get ideas for your home garden at these 19 spring garden tours around L.A.

Scattered orange California poppies, California Lilac with bright blue blooms, and hummingbird sage with dark rose-lilac-colored flowers spontaneously tell us what we already know: Spring has arrived.

Southern California, especially Los Angeles, has many breathtaking botanical gardens and wildflower-lined hiking trails. But it’s also exciting to visit private home gardens that are rarely open to the public and find inspiration even if you don’t have space for a garden at home.

This year’s spring garden tours include a visit to a historic Midcentury Modern home designed by Buff, Straub and Hensman, complete with a river running through the property as part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Tour. You can also check out a native garden at a Long Beach elementary school that is usually closed to visitors, or see how a young couple used a $5,000 turf rebate from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to transform their Inglewood yard during the Theodore Payne Foundation’s two-day Native Plant Garden Tour.

Whether you love gardening or simply enjoy beautiful landscapes and meeting other plant lovers, these tours offer plenty of ideas you can use long after your visit. From native plants to rose gardens, here are this spring’s local garden tours.

Blooming California poppies remind us that spring is here.

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(Stella Kalinina / For The Times)

March 29
The Poppy Day Garden Tour raises money for the South Coast chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Visit 10 native plant gardens across the South Bay that support wildlife and help save water. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door, if available. Children and teens under age 18 get in free. For tickets and more information, visit cnps-south-coast.square.site.

The Creative Arts Group’s Art of the Garden Tour features self-guided visits to five gardens in Pasadena, Altadena and La Cañada Flintridge from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $45 in advance or $50 on the day of the event. This tour is the nonprofit’s biggest fundraiser of the year, supporting arts programs, exhibitions and classes for children and adults. Please note that photography, pets and children under age 12 are not allowed on the tours. You can also stop by the Creative Arts Group Gallery at 108 N. Baldwin Ave. in Sierra Madre to buy tickets in person and see artwork from more than 25 local artists. For more information, visit creativeartsgroup.org.

A woman stands in a garden filled with colorful native plants.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

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April 11-12
Theodore Payne Foundation’s Native Plant Garden Tour: Habitats That Heal is a showcase for 42 gardens across Los Angeles, each with at least half native plants. The self-guided tour runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. On April 11, you can visit 20 gardens in neighborhoods in Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Shadow Hills, Tujunga, Montrose, Burbank, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, South Pasadena, Pasadena and Altadena. On April 12, the tour covers gardens in Santa Monica, Venice, West L.A., Del Rey, Baldwin Hills, Mid-City, Inglewood, South L.A., Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Mt. Washington, El Sereno and Alhambra. Tickets cost $55, or $50 for members, and children under age 16 are free. If you buy a ticket, you’ll receive a guidebook in the mail, which also serves as your ticket. Starting March 26, tickets and maps are only available for purchase in person at the foundation office in Sun Valley from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The office is closed on Sunday and Monday. For more information, visit nativeplantgardentour.org.

California Native Plant Society’s San Diego Native Garden Tour is a showcase of 31 private gardens across the city, including the CNPS San Diego Native Plant Teaching Garden, Southwestern College Botanical Garden, Paradise Hills and Native West Nursery. Each garden in the self-guided tour uses at least 60% California native plants, demonstrating how these gardens protect local biodiversity. The tour is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $45; children age 17 and under are free. Will call locations and instructions will be emailed after ticket purchase at eventbrite.com.

A "Welcome to California" sign is seen at Prisk Native Plant Garden in Long Beach.

A “Welcome to California” sign is seen at Prisk Native Plant Garden in Long Beach.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

April 12 and 19
The Prisk Native Plant Garden Open House is celebrating its 30th year with an annual tour of the garden, which is usually closed to the public. You can visit from 1 to 4 p.m. both days at William F. Prisk Elementary School, 2375 Fanwood Ave. in Long Beach. The garden is located behind the school at East Los Arcos Street and Albury Avenue. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. For more information, visit facebook.com/prisknativegarden.

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April 19
The Garden Conservancy Pasadena Open Days Tour welcomes you to visit four private gardens at historic homes. You can see Buff, Straub and Hensman’s Midcentury Modern Norton House, the 1916 Spanish Revival-style home called Mi Sueño del Sur, a Southern California Arts and Crafts garden, and the rose gardens of a historic Pasadena estate from the 1900s. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $10 per garden and are available online only. Children ages 12 and under can join the tour for free with an adult. For more information, visit gardenconservancy.org.

A view of a cactus plant in the middle of a desert scene.

Desert gardens with native plants at the Mojave Land Trust in Joshua Tree.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Morongo Basin Conservation Assn. is hosting its 15th Annual Desert-Wise Landscape Tour. This self-guided event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features four private gardens in Pioneertown and Yucca Valley, along with three demonstration gardens in Joshua Tree. Tickets cost $25, or $20 for members. You can find tickets and more information on the MBCA website, mbconservation.org. On the day of the tour, registration will only be available at the Mojave Desert Land Trust in Joshua Tree.

April 25
Habitat Garden Tours at Caroline Park and Ryan Bonaminio Park, the Riverside-San Bernardino Chapter of the California Native Plant Society is offering free tours of two large native plant gardens within city parks in Redlands and Riverside. Morning tours of the 16-acre Caroline Park in Redlands, which is dedicated to California native plants, will be held at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Park near the corner of Mariposa Drive and Poppy Road, then enter the park using the trail to the left of the Caroline Park sign. Meet at the kiosk upon arrival. Afternoon tours at Ryan Bonaminio Park in Riverside, which features restored native plants from local floodplains and upland areas that support pollinators, will be held at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Park on the west end of the parking lot to access the decomposed granite path leading to the 1.17-acre habitat garden. The tours are free, and you are welcome to join at any scheduled time. For more information, visit: chapters.cnps.org/riversidesanbernardino.

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April 25-26
The Floral Park Home & Garden Tour in North Santa Ana invites you to explore historic homes and gardens from the 1920s to the 1950s from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. Along with the tours, you can enjoy the Street of Treasures Market, sample food from local restaurants and check out a car show. All proceeds help fund community scholarships and support nonprofit organizations. Tickets cost $45 if you buy them by April 20, or $50 at the door. For more details, visit floralparkhometour.com.

The Riverside Community Flower Show & Garden Tour: Garden Party features self-guided tours of six local gardens, with master gardeners on hand to answer your questions. Tours are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. You can also visit a free flower show at the Riverside Elks Lodge, 6166 Brockton Ave., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the garden tour is $10, and children under 16 get in free. For more information, visit riversideflowershow.com.

A Craftsman style home on Mar Vista Ave in Bungalow Heaven in Pasadena.
Bungalow Heaven, a tree-lined neighborhood in Pasadena, is known for its substantial collection of Craftsman bungalows.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

April 26
The 35th Annual Bungalow Heaven Home Tour features self-guided walks through eight homes, with volunteer docents ready to share each home’s history and architecture. Although the focus is on architecture, many of the homes in the landmark district have lovely landscaped backyards that guests are welcome to visit and admire. McDonald Park will be lively all day with music, a silent auction of unique items, homemade cookies and local food trucks for lunch. It’s from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Advance tickets are $25 at bungalowheaven.org and available until April 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets on the day of the tour are $30 and can be bought at McDonald Park, 1000 E. Mountain St., starting at 9:40 a.m. Part of the proceeds will go to San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity to help those affected by the Eaton fire.

May 2
The Laguna Beach Garden Club’s 20th Gate & Garden Tour starts at the Bruce Scherer Waterwise and Fire-Safe Gardens, located at 306 3rd St. in Laguna Beach. Special buses will take ticket holders to visit several local gardens. You can buy Mexican food and artisanal margaritas and enjoy free homemade baked goods. Artists will be painting in some of the gardens, and if you wear a festive garden party hat, you’ll be entered in the club’s hat contest. Proceeds help fund school gardens, local scholarships and community projects. The tours run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please note that children are not allowed. Timed-entry tickets are $65.87 online, which includes entry between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., plus one food item and one drink. Find tickets at eventbrite.com.

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A welcome sign in a garden in Long Beach.

A welcome sign at one of the garden’s in last year’s Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

May 2-3
The Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour: Real Gardens by Real People features self-guided tours of 34 gardens spanning Long Beach to San Clemente from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. The tour is free, but donation jars will be set out at the gardens to support the Sheepfold, a crisis center for women and children that has long been the foundation’s annual tour beneficiary. For more information, visit heardsgardentour.com.

May 3
Inspired Garden Artistry invites you to the Blooms with a View Garden Tour, featuring 10 private home gardens in View Park, Windsor Hills, Ladera Heights and Baldwin Hills. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also enjoy the free Garden & Community Resource Expo at Ladera Park’s south entrance, 4750 W. 62nd St. during the same hours. The expo offers artisans, landscape architects, nurseries, local community services, food trucks, giveaways, a plant swap and fun activities for families. Tickets are $30 online until April 15 and $35 from April 16 through May 3. Kids ages 12 and under enter free. To learn more, visit inspiredgardenartistry.com.

Join the 28th Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Assn. & Hospice Camarillo Garden Tour and explore four beautiful Camarillo gardens from noon to 4 p.m. Artists from the Pastel Society of the Gold Coast will be giving demonstrations in at least two of the gardens. Tickets are $30 online, and all proceeds support the association’s hospice program in Camarillo. For more information, visit lmvna.org/gardentour.

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May 9
The West Floral Park and Jack Fisher Park neighborhoods are hosting the 19th annual Open Garden Day, featuring tours of two tree-lined areas with vintage homes in North Santa Ana. Enjoy live music, art displays, garden talks and demonstrations, a classic car display, and free bottled water at the gardens. In the morning, you can buy coffee and doughnuts, and vendors will offer food and garden products from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tours run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with a shuttle service between the two tour loops to help reduce wait times. Tickets go on sale online starting March 20 for $20, or you can buy them for $25 on the day of the event at West Santa Clara and North Westwood avenues in Santa Ana. For more information, visit opengardenday.com.

Cleveland sage (purple) grows inside the north Westwood Greenway.
In 2024, visitors explored the garden of Dennis Mudd, the creator of Calscape, during the San Diego Native Garden Tour hosted by the California Native Plant Society.

(Silke Gathmann)

May 14
The 29th Newport Harbor Home & Garden Tour, hosted by Barclay Butera Interior Design, invites guests to explore six locally designed homes and gardens near Newport Harbor High School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day begins with a morning reception at 9 a.m., followed by a luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and ends with a reception at Barclay Butera from 2 to 5 p.m. This event raises funds for the Newport Harbor Educational Foundation to help support academic programs and faculty at Newport Harbor High School. Tickets are available online for $125 until April 24 at newportharborhometour.com.

May 16
The San Clemente Garden Club’s 2026 Garden Tour offers self-guided tours and live entertainment at several local gardens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can buy tickets online ahead of time for $40 each, or $35 each if you buy four or more. Tickets on the day of the event are $50. All proceeds help fund the club’s college scholarships, junior gardeners programs, local conservation groups and civic beautification projects in San Clemente. For more information, visit sanclementegardenclub.com.

Matilija poppy grows in Eric Augusztiny's drought-tolerant front yard.

A Matilija poppy grows in West Hills.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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May 17
The Rossmoor Woman’s Club is hosting its 22nd Garden Tour, offering self-guided visits to five or six private gardens in the Rossmoor-Los Alamitos area of Orange County, just north of Seal Beach. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will also be a marketplace with vendors and refreshments. Tickets cost $20 and will be available online in April or at the club’s outdoor marketplace at the Farmers & Merchants Bank, 12535 Seal Beach Blvd., on the day of the tour. All proceeds go to local charities and college scholarships for Los Alamitos High School students. For more information, visit rossmoorwomansclub.org.

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