Walking Tour: So-Cal Spring Garden Show

Welcome!

The 23rd annual Southern California Spring Garden Show was held at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa last weekend … and what a show it was! Encompassing seminars and a speaker series on topics as varied as beekeeping, healing gardens and the garden as art gallery, there were also children’s events, arts and crafts, a bird show and carnivorous plant feedings. There were outdoor room setups, including a judged competition; one display garden was created specifically for the visually impaired. And, of course, there was lots to buy … I’d never been to a garden show held in a major and very popular shopping center before; fearing that the show would become crowded and picture-taking compromised, we arrived early, which proved to be a good decision. Once the show opened, it was near to impossible to shoot anything — too crowded!  Needless to say, the show was a success and everyone seemed to be having a great time … So, here’s a quick walking tour, with less than the usual descriptive captioning … after sifting through 300+ images I’m going to allow them to speak for themselves … enjoy!

Beauties

I was struck by the orchid vendors’ offerings: so many shapes, sizes, colors …

Diversity

Orchids and anthuriums in hues I’d never seen before … could all of these be natural?

Foreigners

Some orchid propagators offered truly rare varieties; many not often found in the US.

Exotica

Bromeliads told some amazing and outlandish color stories.

Diminutive

Bonsai trees (and one succulent) stood tall and dignified — at least visually.

Foliage

The stunningly pretty foliage of small maples in reds and greens.

Hungry

Carnivorous plants reached out for victims in a variety of voracious forms and attractive colors.

Oddities

Tillandsias and stag horn ferns made like wallflowers, hanging out.

Unusual

Succulent society specimens are intensely, oddly, gorgeous.

Succulence

Succulents, many of them tiny, feature prominently in an assortment of decorative objects.

Bizarre

On the left, a not-for-sale amorphophallus paeoniifolios, also known as Elephant Foot Yam, Whitespot Giant Arum, or, Stink Lily, is a tuber eaten in several Southeast Asian countries. Click here for more pictures of this odiferous cousin of the Huntington Library’s Mr. Stinky … Sadly, I never got a chance to ask the vendor the name of the plant on the right; it’s beyond-gorgeous and I love its reptilian flower stalk. Desert to Jungle Nursery had both on display.

Rooms

Display gardens — themed outdoor rooms — brought beauty and inspiration utilizing diverse materials.

Striking

Amazing sculptural focal points by Daniel Oropeza require an equally amazing garden setting.

Decor

Decor for the garden, including planters, were in abundance … everything for the Asian-goth-rustic-industrial garden.

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I can’t wait for the 24th annual So-Cal Garden show … by the time it comes around again I’ll be in the market for some of the plants, objects and events I missed this time around!