2005 SF Flower & Garden Show

一年一度的舊金山園藝秀開鑼了！ 因為我們有計畫在不久的將來要請園藝設計師來設計假裡的庭院，去年聽朋友介紹就一直期待，昨天終於去開開眼界。

The Cow Palace 像是一個飛機維修場，好大好大，裡面分好幾區，大門一進去的那區是園藝設計區，可以看到各式各樣的園藝設計，我最有興趣當然是圖中那個很現代很極簡的設計，有和設計師小談，計畫將來的設計工作交給他做，當然，要先存一筆錢啦。

另外有一區是植物販賣區，小從幼苗，大到楓葉樹和竹子，應有盡有，而且數量多的不得了，價錢也不錯喔。

還有一區是Bosai展示及販賣區，也有教學。不要看小小一盆，有的都是十五年的年齡，價錢當然也是很可觀啦。

還有蘭花區，我都不知道連蘭花也有那麼多品種，算是上了一堂課。

也有另外一區算是雜區吧，有戶外桌椅展示、衣服、珠寶、庭院照明設備、園藝工具、等等。

門票20元，停車費8元，不算便宜。但是如果你從來沒去過，我倒覺得值得一去，去認識一些設計師及作品，收集一些資料和點子，開開眼界，因為有些時候你想要找這些人還不一定知道要從何找起，這次他們全湊在一起讓你來看，不去豈不可惜，如果又剛好有要買植物，就更划算了。

不過記得要穿球鞋，或是好走路的鞋，因為裡面很大很大，要走很多的路。

San Francisco Flower & Garden Show http://www.gardenshow.com/sf/

以下是水星報的報導：

Green stuff by Holly Hayes, Mercury News

GET AN EYEFUL: The glorious 20th annual San Francisco Flower & Garden Show is in full swing through Sunday. Inside the cavernous Cow Palace in Daly City are 23 eye-popping gardens that showcase the imaginations of talented designers and landscape professionals.

I think it’s the best show in years. Even though you might experience some head-scratching moments — what’s up with the crushed cars and the Italian poetry in a garden called “Love Hurts”? — there are plenty of real-world, take-away ideas.

At Wednesday’s opening, thousands of visitors gawked and gabbed their way through the displays. Designers and builders held court, proudly discussing plant and material selections and polishing up awards that were handed out at Tuesday night’s gala.

There’s a lot to see. Here are a few random thoughts after a five-hour trek through this year’s extravaganza:
• The Golden Gate Cup — a.k.a. “best in show” — went to a garden called “The Spirit of Nature’s Dreams,” a fantasy of elaborate water features and contrasting textures created by John M. Lamos of Studio Replica of Petaluma and Donald G. Boos of Don Boos Design of Murphys. This is the largest garden in the show, and it is situated so you can walk around all four sides.

• Water features, recycled items and succulents are recurring themes in many of the gardens. In “Resurrect,” which you cannot miss thanks to artist Phillip Glash off’s mammoth soaring angel made of recycled metal parts, there are old tires stacked into a planter bed and recycled, tumbled glass used as mulch. Designers: James Pettigrew and Sean Stout of Organic Mechanics in San Francisco.

• Tumbled glass and recycled items also play a starring role in the surprising and clever “Succulent Origami,” by Beth Mullins of Grows green Landscape Design and Amy Berger of Stomping Ground Landscape Design, both of San Francisco. Succulents are placed in the context of a Japanese tea garden, and shiny paper works of origami are scattered among them. The garden’s “bones” consist of rusted recycled radiators and galvanized ducting, which look much cooler than they sound.

• Students at Arizona State University’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture created “Liberally Conservative,” showing off a smart xeriscape design that incorporates passive solar and green building materials. The plant selection includes a gorgeous collection of agaves, aloes, yuccas and other desert plants.

• I would have given Leita Brown’s charming “California Natives Transform Urban Front Yard” a gold award (she got a bronze, but still). The San Anselmo designer presented what probably is the show’s most practical, idea-packed garden that focuses on the great diversity of California native plants and not on whimsy. Her detailed brochure includes an exhaustive plant list that anyone interested in water-wise gardening should pick up.

Once you’re done perusing the gardens, head to the vendor areas where — as usual — the shopping is superb.

Show hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20 ($13 if you arrive at 3 p.m. or later); kids ages 4-11, $7. Parking is $8 per car.

Wear comfortable shoes. Dress in layers (the Cow Palace can be chilly and drafty) and bring water, a notebook and your camera. Details: http://www.gardenshow.com or call (800) 829-9751.

This article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/home/11168576.htm