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SF Flower and Garden Show moves to Cal Expo

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED FEB 7, 2019

Renowned for its designer show gardens, the 2019 San Francisco Flower and Garden Show will be held at Cal Expo.
(Photo: Courtesy San Francisco Flower and Garden Show)

Sacramento will be new home to prestigious event March 21-24

One of San Francisco’s hallmark gardening events is moving to Cal Expo.

Renowned for its designer gardens and spectacular orchid market, the 2019 San Francisco Flower and Garden Show will be held at Cal Expo on March 21-24. Tickets are on sale now.

A scheduling snafu at the Cow Palace in Daly City forced the prestigious show, now in its 34th year, to scramble for a new home, explained show producer Sherry Larsen.

“They booked (an event for) Facebook on our dates,” said Larsen, who didn’t know about the scheduling conflict until late December. “I called Cal Expo and they had our weekend available.”

Larsen had previously produced garden shows at the Sacramento fairgrounds and jumped at the opportunity.

“I know the Sacramento market; it’s wonderful,” she said.

Sacramento patrons have been strong supporters of the San Francisco show, both in Daly City and its previous home in San Mateo, Larsen noted.

“Tracking our ticket sales, we saw 14 percent sold to people from just the city of Sacramento – not counting other Sacramento area cities -- at San Mateo,” she said. “They were willing to drive to San Mateo. Now, they just have to go to Cal Expo.”

Many of the show’s internationally known vendors will make the switch, she added. “With this late change, the show will be smaller; we lost a few designers that were embedded in the Bay Area. But we’ll fill the Pavilion (at Cal Expo).”

Sacramento area garden clubs are invited to participate, she noted. The show offers free space for garden clubs to staff information booths and recruit new members.

Volunteers also are needed to help staff the many exhibits as well as garden designers to compete in the garden showcase or create displays. Details and forms are available at https://www.sfgardenshow.com/the-show

About 32,000 patrons attended last year’s San Francisco Flower and Garden Show at the Cow Palace, Larsen said. To help entice gardening enthusiasts to Cal Expo, the show dropped its ticket prices from $25 to $18 at the gate, $16 early bird. Currently, the show’s website offers a Valentine’s Day special: Two tickets for $30.

In addition to bringing in some horticultural all-stars, Larsen is drawing on local talent to fill the show’s four-day speaker schedule with almost nonstop seminars and workshops. Speakers will be announced later this month.

“We have three stages,” Larsen said. “That’s what your ticket price really pays for – all that expertise and information, from floral design to urban homesteading.”

Details and tickets: www.sfgardenshow.com .

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Flower and Garden Show Sacramento Sherry Larsen garden clubs Cal Expo Cow Palace SF Flower Show San Francisco

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FALL

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

WINTER

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden checklist for week of Dec. 14

Rain is due midweek, but there should be some partly sunny breaks between rain clouds, especially Thursday. Make the most of those opportunities and show your garden some TLC.

* Brighten the holidays with winter bloomers such as poinsettias, amaryllis, calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies and primroses.

* Keep poinsettias in a sunny, warm location. Water thoroughly. After the holidays, feed your plants monthly so they’ll bloom again next December.

* Rake and remove dead leaves and stems from dormant perennials.

* Rake and compost leaves from trees, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Clear gutters and storm drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Plant bulbs at two-week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* Seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while they’re dormant.

* Clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.

* Bare-root season begins. Plant bare-root berries, kiwifruit, grapes, artichokes, horseradish and rhubarb.

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