Spring Flower Show opens in Elmhurst's Wilder Park

Spring is the Meryl Streep of seasons: You never know from day to day exactly what it's going to look like, act like or sound like.

But spring is at its best (and the Oscar goes to ...) when it's performing in its traditional role of "rebirth." You know the one, where the crocuses and daffodils bravely stick their heads above ground in the desolate winter landscape, where the trees and bushes start to push out buds, where April showers really do produce May flowers.

And while there are many places across DuPage County where you can enjoy the first inklings of spring - Cantigny Park in Wheaton, the Morton Arboretum in Lisle - there's also a relatively small and quiet place tucked away in Elmhurst's Wilder Park that may be worth a quick stop.

The Wilder Park Conservatory at 225 Prospect Ave. has been an icon of Elmhurst since the 1920s. This weekend it opened its annual Spring Flower Show, which will continue through the end of the month.

Because of a mix-up in deliveries and some unusually warm weather in February and early March, the 2017 show is a little different from those of the past. There are still Easter lillies, of course, although not quite as many as usual. And instead of spring bulbs that already have bloomed out, there's a new assortment of Asiatic lillies and Martha Washington geraniums to enjoy.

The conservatory is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, admission is free, and for the next few weeks the place will just feel like spring.

But this show has a short shelf life. Summer will be here before you know it and it will bring a whole new vibe as spring gives way to new displays at the conservatory and a season of red-hot, action-packed blockbusters.