This year's local garden show

Although the garden show in nearby Orange County hasn't been worthy of the name for many years, a neighbor and I attended late last week nonetheless, mainly to peruse the vendor stands.  We arrived on the first day of the event to avoid the crush of weekend visitors.

The event is held every year in the home goods wing of South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa in late April.  The light inside the mall is less than perfect so keep that in mind when you view my photos.  I threw away more than half of the photos I took.

The main level was occupied by a floral centerpiece with an undersea theme created by Fiesta Parade Floats using floral and other natural materials.

The display was 25-feet tall

Details shot from a variety of angles

The subtitle given to the garden show is "At Home in the Garden" which is a nice way of explaining why the display gardens are focused on outdoor furniture and relatively light on plants.  I took only a handful of photos of the displays.

This one was called 'Nature Reconciliation'.  The frame in the background contained a "rain curtain" water feature.  I wasn't sure what the rock-filled containers in the foreground were about.

This one was called 'Peaceful Garden Getaway'.  The rock fountain (right) was the nicest element.  The fire pit was described as a "smokeless" unit that could double for use in cooking.

This one was called 'The Serenity of Nature'.  The waterwheel (lower right) was intended to the provide soothing sound of water but it wasn't running.  The plant shown on the upper right looked like a shrub, possibly some kind of Viburnum, grown as a standard in a small pot.

Once again this year, Fleurs de Villes installed mannequins decked out in floral designs.  The majority of these were installed in the main wing of South Coast Plaza accessible via a bridge but we didn't make it there.  There were just two installations in the home goods wing.

The one on the left was called 'Culinary Arts' and the one on the right was called 'Queen of the Night'

The miniature landscape (upper right) was interesting.  The exhibitor identified the one below it (lower right) as a Brazilian rain tree (Pithecellobium tortum), which appears to be a common bonsai subject.  I'd like to have a Bougainvillea bonsai like the one on the lower left as I love the plants but my husband doesn't want them in our garden.

When I looked up the garden show a month or more before the event, I viewed a vendor list that was much more extensive than the final list.  I was disappointed to find that some of my favorite vendors didn't participate this year.  I'd hoped to get another Muradian pot after a critter toppled one I had in my lath house but that didn't happen and the vendor displays were light on pottery altogether.

There were these odd pillows embedded with lights, though

Most of the pottery I saw contained plants.  The snake-shaped pot (left) was interesting but the empty version had more holes than were needed for drainage.  The one in the middle contained a monkey tail cactus (Cleistocactus colademononis), a plant that appeals to me but once again I left behind.  The pot on the right contained what appeared to be a small Aeonium.

Luckily, there were numerous vendors selling plants.

Bird Rock Tropicals (top row) had bromeliads for sale.  Various other vendors also offered bromeliads and Tillandsias.  I think the Tillandsia on the lower right might be 'Curly Slim'.

The epiphytic ferns (Huperzia) on the left were interesting but expensive ($75).  While some of the tiny ferns were $20 each, others like the very tiny Deparia lancea (lower right) were $85.

There were a LOT of orchid sellers but few bargains outside of the moth orchids (Phalaeonopsis)

There were also a large number of succulent sellers.  This was one of the nicest displays, meticulously curated with lots of small specimens and a nice selection of larger ones.

This seller also had a wide selection Top row - Aeoniums in new (to me) colors and an especially pretty Crassula Middle: Portulacaria and displays featuring Euphorbia squarrosa and E. stellata that develop twisted caudexes Bottom: noID blushing succulent, a range of species, and a crested Myrtillocactus  geometrizans

I didn't buy much on this occasion, just one noID Tillandsia and a package of three Hippeastrum papilio bulbs at a very good price.  In retrospect, I regretted that I passed on the pot containing the Aeonium shown above.  Although the plant itself wasn't unusual, the pot was rather nice.  My neighbor and I had a good time in any case.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party