 Today is the first day of one of the five most prominent horticultural events in the world, which happens to also be one of the three most important horticultural events of the San Francisco Bay Area. It may be hard to believe, but this event is actually not in the Santa Clara Valley. It is the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, which will continue until March 20. During this event, the Cow Palace will be filled with acres of exhibits, vendors, seminars and display gardens.
The Marketplace features 360 vendors of specialized horticultural accessories and gardening paraphernalia. Even those who are not interested in growing the various seeds, bulbs or newly introduced varieties of plants might enjoy the books, tools, garden art, patio furniture, water features or planting containers. The orchid market alone is an impressive exhibit.
Thirty-five seminars and workshops by horticultural professionals and 40 educational demonstration booths address a broad range of horticultural issues. These seminars are free with admission to the show. Twenty-three display gardens designed by local landscapers (and even arborists) demonstrate contemporary landscape design innovation and a few recently introduced plant varieties.
I think the most impressive attraction is the bonsai exhibit assembled by the San Francisco Bonsai Club. I can remember some of these specimens from the earliest San Francisco Flower and Garden Shows and other bonsai exhibits from many years ago. (There is a valley oak that is so old that it has not aged noticeably since my freshman year of high school.)
Dirt Mama's Li'l Gardens are designed and constructed by schoolchildren of the Bay Area. This has actually been one of my favorite sources of close-up pictures of "Species of the Week." The container show may not be as amusing, but it demonstrates more practical containerized gardening for very limited spaces. The garden vignettes demonstrate, among other things, "water-wise" gardening, permaculture, sustainability and gardening with native plant species.
The San Francisco Flower and Garden Show is at the Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Ave. in Daly City, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. through March 19, and from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on March 20. Admission is $20 or $65 for all five days. Admission for children ages 411 is $7 and free for children under 4. Half-day passes are $13 after 3 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the show or at various Bay Area nurseries. Parking at the Cow Palace is $8 to $15. More information about the flower and garden show or horticultural establishments that have tickets available may be found online at www.gardenshow.com or by calling 800.829.9751.
The open house at Bay Laurel Nursery is not until the five Saturdays between April 9 and May 7, but more information can be obtained online at www.baylaurelgar dens.com or by telephoning 831.438.8770. Spring in Guadalupe Gardens is likewise not until April 23, but more information can be obtained online at www.grpg.org/SGG.
Flower of the Week: Squill
Among the various and colorful blooming potted plants for sale at the front porch of my Trader Joe's, squill (Scilla peruviana) has been becoming more popular. More than 40 of the small purplish-blue flowers are suspended by each of the broad rounded trusses. Most small potted specimens produce two or three trusses that are less than 10 inches high.
Blooming plants that are grown in greenhouses are available during most of the year but the natural blooming cycle is in spring. The soft and floppy foliage abscises after bloom but is soon replaced by more profuse foliage as bulbs divide after bloom. If planted in the ground or larger pots, bulbs should be about 5 inches deep. Squill will be happy with rich soil and regular irrigation but will probably need partial shade and protection from snails. It can be grown as a houseplant out of reach of snails but will not bloom or foliate as well in the mild climate within the home.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be
contacted at 408.358.2574 or at LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.
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Photograph by Tony Tomeo