One of Southern California's largest (and flashiest) malls, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, has been holding a spring garden show for thirty-three years. I started attending somewhere around 2005, long before I began blogging. In the early years, I enjoyed the shows, which offered small display gardens and vendors selling a wide variety of plants and garden-related materials. I published my first posts on the show in April 2013, which you can find here and here. By that time, I was already expressing frustration with what I perceived as a decline in the quality of the show's display gardens but the vendors remained a strong draw. I expressed disappointment in 2014 as well but, by comparison to recent shows, plants and garden design had a much larger presence then (see post here). In 2015, the mall's retailers took control of the show and the display gardens became more about selling their products than about gardens. I didn't even post photos of my visit that year. By 2016 the number of vendors had decreased dramatically but I continued to attend annually through 2019. (You can view posts from this period here, here, here and here.) I don't recall if the show was held during the pandemic years but in any case this year was the first time I've attended since 2019.
Even with lowered expectations, my friend and I were disappointed. As usual, the centerpiece of the show was designed by Fiesta Parade Floats, an entity that produces floats of the Tournament of Roses Parade held annually in Pasadena, California on or about New Year's Day.
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| This display, called California Dreaming, was 25 feet tall. This photo was taken from the third floor of the mall. |
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| Closeups of the centerpiece display. I assume that, like the Rose Parade floats, the display was covered in natural materials but I didn't confirm this. |
As in prior years since 2015, the display "gardens" were more focused on selling furniture and decor items than garden design or plants. The plants were peripheral at best. I haven't bothered to show them all but I'm sharing my photos of the three award winners and a couple of others. My apologies for the relatively poor clarity of the photos. Taking photos inside a mall isn't easy.
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| The name given to this display was Traditional Flair Temptations. It was described as a place to enjoy the low maintenance garden. It received a 3rd place award but, in my view, it had the strongest connection to a real garden setting. |
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| This one was called Modern Nature Escape. It was described as an eco-friendly space to enjoy a low maintenance garden. The structure was said to mimic a "repurposed shipping container." It won the first place award. |
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| This 2nd place winner was called Outside the Lines. It was described as using "sexy, unique softscapes (to) calm the hard lines framing the gathering place." There was fake grass, few plants and I hated it. |
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| This one was called A Little Piece of Change. It was described as an "upcycled garden' that provides opportunities to "lovingly tend your herb garden and then take a breather in the charming garden shed." |
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| This one is called A Garden Foot Spaaa (their spelling). The gardener is meant to feel the calm of the garden "at peace with low water and very little fuss." An "old stock tank" to bathe one's feet is offered as a source of renewal, as well as a place to give dogs a bath. |
The mall advertised fifteen displays of mannequins dressed in flowers but I only saw two in the show area. I'm guessing the rest were placed in the fashion-focused mall area across the street, although I did run into one at a nearby botanic garden later the same day.
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| Mannequins dressed in greenery and flowers seems to be a "thing" at garden shows these days |
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| 3 days into the show, the flowers still looked good |
This year, there were vendors on all three levels of the mall but there weren't as many as in prior years and most of my favorite vendors were no shows.
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| Orchids are always common at this show because it precedes Mother's Day. Houseplants had a greater presence. There were fewer outdoor garden plants for sale. |
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| This was the only stall offering what I'd call bargains |
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| This vendor offered monkey tail cactus (Cleistocactus colademononis) in small sizes for $15 and it's the only thing I regret not buying. In fact, other than lunch, I didn't buy anything on this visit, which is probably a first. |
Will I attend future shows? Absent confirmation of some of my favorite vendors, like Mark Muradian Pottery and Geraniaceae, it's unlikely.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party