The Show
THE MAKING OF THE SAN FRANCISCO FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW
People making their first visit to world-class flower & garden shows, such as the Chelsea Flower Show, the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and the Philadelphia Flower Show are suprised by the size and magnificence of the garden landscaping.
A world-class flower show is a huge complex production. The San Francisco flower show uses 1,200 cubic yards of sawdust and mulch for the gardens (that's about 150 dump truck-loads) and 280,000 pounds of rock. The trucks bringing in the flowers & plants for the gardens come from all up and down the West Coast. More than 300 theatrical lighting instruments are hung from the ceiling above the gardens.
Creating the gardens is the most complex part of the show. Planning for them begins nine months before the show. The gardens are like the actors, scenery and music in an opera, ballet or play. Just as those elements are the most expensive part of those artistic productions, the landscaped gardens are the most complex part of a garden show.
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Many people are surprised to learn that the companies and organizations creating gardens do not pay the show to exhibit, rather the show pays them a substantial cash subsidy plus provides other support including lighting, electricity, water, heavy equipment, labor rocks and mulch. The total direct cost to create the gardens is well over one million dollars. The Flower Show has been produced by Salmon Bay Events - who also produced the NW garden show seattle, until the end of the 2009 flower show. A local San Francisco company continues to bring this tradition to California gardeners and landscapers in 2010. By sharing this background about what it takes to produce a world-class garden show, we hope that your next visit to the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show will be even richer and more enjoyable. The dates for this year's show are March 23-27, 2011! Hope to see you there!
Want to see 12 FLOWER SHOW DAYS IN 7.5 MINUTES?The show has produced an amazing video that crams into 7.5 minutes the complete 12-day cycle of show production – 5 days move-in, 5 show days, 2 days move-out. See it now. |
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