Native Poppy's Petal Pops for Art Alive Return to San Diego
Every spring, the San Diego Museum of Art transforms their museum into a vibrant floral paradise for their annual Art Alive exhibition, a display of 100 floral interpretations of works of art from the museum's permanent collection. Since 2022, Native Poppy has been proud to partner with SMDA, creating community "Petal Pops" throughout San Diego to promote and celebrate the upcoming Art Alive exhibit.
These beautiful installations highlight special spots in neighborhoods throughout the city, adding vibrant color to the community, and creating a special, multi-day experience that's completely free to enjoy!
Photo by Create with Gusto.
We’re beyond excited to bring our Petal Pops back for 2025, popping up all over San Diego so you can experience our large-scale floral installations in person. We're finalizing the designs prepping each pop-up — mark your calendars and join us for four weekends of Petal Pops across the city!
2025 Petal Pop Dates:
March 21-23, 2025
March 28-30, 2025
April 4-6, 2025
April 11-13, 2025
One of the most exciting things about our participation in Art Alive each year is being able to surprise you! We announce each Petal Pop location on Instagram and TikTok on the day the flower installation goes up, creating buzz and anticipation. Think of it as a floral scavenger hunt!
Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit last year's petal pops, to get you excited for what’s coming for this round of installations!
Recap of 2024’s Petal Pops
Native Poppy’s collaboration with SDMA has been nothing short of magical. Our floral pop-ups build excitement for Art Alive while connecting our community to the art of flowers in an urban setting. Every installation is designed by Native Poppy's founder, Natalie Gill, inspired by the unique features of each location, and crafted with the neighborhood in mind.
Each Petal Pop is a labor of love and meticulously crafted using flowers generously provided by Cali Wholesale Flowers! These installs make awesome photo backdrops, and folks flock to our Petal Pops for selfies, family photos, and even pics of their pups!
Check out the spots where we popped up in 2024:
Piazza della Famiglia Fountain in Little Italy
Photos by Create with Gusto.
It's always fun for our team to install florals in water features! This colorful Petal Pop featured flowers draped over the tiers of the eye-catching fountain in Little Italy's Piazza della Famiglia. Our florists arrived for this install wearing rubber rainboots — one teammate wore a pair of waterproof fishing waders!
Fiesta de Reyes in Old Town
Photos by Create with Gusto.
Not one, but TWO floral fountains in last year's Petal Pops! We were excited to festoon the entrance to Fiesta de Reyes with florals for this Petal Pop in Old Town, which included some loose blooms decorating the fountain just outside the plaza.
The Lookout Gazebo in La Mesa
Photos by Create with Gusto.
This community gazebo adds color to La Mesa year round with its fun mosaic details, and we were thrilled to take it over the top with flowers hung from every corner! This install was a memorable one for our team: it took place during a rare hail storm, which sent our floral team running for cover during the downpour. Luckily the sun came back out, so the community could enjoy this fun install all weekend long.
The Star of India at the Waterfront
Photos by Create with Gusto.
For the fourth Petal Pop of 2024, we took to the water again, this time decorating the historic Star of India with festive florals! What an honor to add our signature floral artistry to the oldest active sailing ship in the world — this vessel was built in 1863!
Native Poppy at Art Alive
Art Alive brings together 100+ talented floral designers to reinterpret museum artworks each year, using only flowers and botanical materials. This exhibition highlights the artistry and craftsmanship of floral artists while raising funds for the museum via Bloom Bash, the opening night celebration which kicks off Art Alive.
Our participation in Art Alive goes beyond our Petal Pops! In 2023, Natalie had the honor of creating the breathtaking rotunda floral installation, which was the centerpiece of the Art Alive exhibit. We're proud that Natalie's install was the most visited rotunda design in the history of Art Alive! Although she's not designing the rotunda this year, we’re SO excited to see how this year’s featured florist transforms SDMA.
What to Expect at our 2025 Petal Pops
While we can’t reveal the locations of our 2025 Petal Pops just yet, we can assure you that our installations will be super exciting this year! Expect bold colors, unexpected textures and designs, and a touch of whimsy. We’re incredibly excited to see what Natalie has up her sleeve for each pop-up!
Mark your calendars and get ready to experience the artistry of flowers in full bloom! Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to be first to know when we announce each Petal Pop location. See you there!
