Flower Power in San Francisco

Growing up in rural Indiana,  I heard utopian tales about San Francisco from well-traveled Hoosiers. Everyone in San Francisco was cool and held the most progressive ideas.  Everyone was attractive and laid-back.  Of course, the place was beautiful and there were flowers everywhere.  After my recent short stay there, I’d have to say, those descriptions are right on.

If you follow me or Punk Rock Gardens on Facebook or Twitter, you know I had the honor of being part of the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show as Show Photographer.  I didn’t see much of San Francisco.  The show was my mini-utopia. I haven’t blogged about my experience because I wanted to sort through images before giving PRG needed attention.

The show was powerful on several levels.   The theme of the show, Gardens for the Future, very much appealed to me.  For a slide show of images click;

Early in my gardening, I went to garden shows in search of ideas that I could apply in my own garden.  Now,  I’m more intrigued with the creative expression of the garden designers and the meaning and beauty of their gardens.  Part of the success of this show, was the appeal it held for all types of visitors.

I loved seeing designers celebrating directions in gardening that I am passionate about.  Examples of edibles in the landscape, native plants and use of flowing, shorter grasses rather than lawn, were everywhere in the show gardens.  Two gardens incorporated the pre-eminent useful and elegant garden art; the chicken.  I didn’t see THAT in Philadelphia.

Beautiful flowers and woody plants weren’t missing by any means.  I completely fell in love with California poppy; full bright flower balancing on an impossibly thin stem.  Lush palms – unknown to this Pennsylvanian -towered near breathtaking 100-year-old olive trees.  Olive leaves shimmer silver.  Olive bark is gnarly gorgeous.   Visitors swooned over succulents. One garden had a succulent with a football-sized bloom.

The show offered lots to learn and access to people to learn from.  The garden designers were with their gardens and graciously answering questions from visitors.  Five days of seminars by many well-known garden authors provided numerous opportunities to learn about wide ranging subjects from bonsai to using color fearlessly.

My brain was super-turned on after conversations with like-minded people.  I learned about Bio-Dynamics. Had several insightful conversations about what is happening spiritually with people that is drawing us back to the earth, gardening, and back to growing our own food.  I got to vent about Monsanto a bit.

The vibe of the place and the people made me feel very at home and comfortable.  Everyone seemed happy.  I met and spent time with a few people who I immediately felt a connection with and in an odd way… miss a little already.

This opportunity for me originated with kind soul, show publicist and talented landscape designer, Laura Livengood Schaub, @interleafer.  She told me about the gig and put me in touch with the Show Producer Kay Estey.  Social Media magic.  Thanks also to Laura, a large garden Twitter community gathered there.  In the neighborhood of  fifty of us who know each other via social media held tweet-ups. Many of us came from far away.  Good friends came from North Carolina and Colorado. One new friend ventured from Canada.

Garden shows have struggled in recent years.  It’s a bit odd given the increasing interest in gardening.  But even here locally, both the Mid-Atlantic Garden Show, and the Harrisburg Garden-Expo, teetered on going away.  Harrisburg missed a show in 2009.

The future of the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show wasn’t certain at this time in 2009.  I’m no expert (eh… maybe after seeing as many garden shows as I have, I might have a CLUE)  but I believe, as the word about the quality of this show spreads,  generating excitement about the 2011 show, will be a cakewalk.