24th Annual San Francisco Flower & Garden Show at NEW LOCATION
People making their first visit to world-class flower & garden shows, such as the annual extravaganzas in Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and London, are often surprised at their scale, production values and overall quality. And even frequent attendees continue to be amazed and marvel at how it all comes together.
As the photos on this page illustrate, a world-class flower show is a huge, complex production. Just as an example, the Northwest garden 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.