February 25, 2005

Flower and garden show, fruit harvesting events are great for greenthumbs

By Shari Kaplan
Staff Writer

The 20th annual San Francisco Flower and Garden Show will fill the Cow Palace with earthly delights from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 16—19 and from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on March 20.

Although I’ve attended the show for three or four years, it still wows me every time.

This year features 23 full-size garden displays (some of which visitors can walk through) and 10 garden vignettes created by nursery employees, horticulturists and landscape designers throughout Northern California. All displays have very creative titles. In the past, there were always a few that incorporated water features and some even had koi.

"Your Own Backyard" and "A Garden With But Without" were among the many creative, life-size garden displays at last year's San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. This year's show, which runs March 16-20, promises more of the same.

The Cow Palace and its exhibit halls become the equivalent of six acres of gardens, using more than 1,200 cubic yards of mulch and 280,000 pounds of rocks. There are thousands of live trees, shrubs, vines and flowers that turn the displays into beautiful examples of what visitors can do on their own property.

Photography is welcome, and consultants and designers are right there to speak with. Imagine “Sunset” or “Better Homes and Gardens” magazines coming to life—that’s what it reminds me of. (There’s usually one display that reminds my horticultural companion of PBS’s “Antiques Road Show,” but whether that’s good or bad depends on personal viewpoint!)

None of the greenery in the Cow Palace is for sale, but the exhibit halls make up for that with several hundred exhibitors and vendors selling more greenery than you can shake a rake at. From classic heirloom plants to strange new cultivars of tropical flowers to painstakingly grown bonsai trees: If it grows, it’s available. Products of interest to greenthumbs also are available, including tools, clothes, fountains, environmentally friendly chemicals, statuary and fun knickknacks you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. It makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop!

Although kids are certainly welcome to attend the show, they might not be as interested in the free seminar and demonstration series as their parents. Each day of the show features presentations by guest lecturers such as flower show judges, gardening book authors, landscape designers, landscape architects, horticulturists, students, educators and writers for gardening publications.

For tickets, directions, schedules or additional information, visit www.gardenshow.com or call (800) 829-9751.

Village Harvest
Moving from a for-profit organization to a nonprofit, I wanted to mention Village Harvest, for which I recently became a volunteer. Accord-ing to its Web site, it’s a “suburban harvesting cooperative in Santa Clara Valley which brings together neighbors and community organizations to provide food for the hungry, preserve our heritage and skills and promote sustainable use of urban resources.”

There is no paid staff; everyone donates their time, including executive director Joni T. Ohta Diserens and project coordinator/harvesting team leader Robin Root. Some of the most enjoyable events are the “harvests,” where volunteers visit the homes of people who’ve notified Village Harvest of their overly abundant fruit trees. It’s a great way to make like-minded friends while getting some exercise and giving back to the community.

Volunteers will pick whatever fruit is ripening in a given season, and Village Harvest then distributes it to Second Harvest Food Bank, InnVision Community Ministries and several other nonprofits that provide food for needy families.

My last picking adventures were all winter-ripening citrus: lemons, oranges, tangelos and grapefruit. I can’t wait for summer and all the juicy peaches and nectarines (my favorites)! Village Harvest also helps organize informational events on pruning, gardening, fruit preserving and other topics.

For more information, visit www.villageharvest.org or call (650) 740-7725.