Spring
doesn’t officially arrive until March 20 but San Francisco already has a case of scorching case of 'Spring Fever' that is sure to have visitors all hot and bothered.
Read all about it after the jump!
Read all about it after the jump!
Feb. 16-May 28, 2012
Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art and Jewish Thought
Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St.
Inspired
by the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees, this
three-part show explores the role of the tree in Jewish tradition. Part
One of the exhibition,
The Dorothy Saxe Invitational, builds upon the museum’s long-standing
tradition of asking artists from a variety of backgrounds to explore a
Jewish ceremonial object, holiday or concept. More than 50 artists
across the U.S. created new works of art in response
to this year’s invitation. Part Two: “An International Survey of Trees
in Contemporary Art” is a selection of more than 20 works by
international artists who have examined the tree — conceptually or
formally — in their work. Part Three of the exhibition is
a site-specific piece in Jessie Square by Rebar using recycled lumber
to create a group of brightly colored gem-shaped planters. A number of
public programs are planned in association with the exhibition as well
including “A Walk Among the Trees” in the Presidio
with author Deborah Newbrun. For information visit
www.thecjm.org or call 415-655-7800.
Feb. 18-26, 2012
Tulipmania
Pier 39, 2 Beach St.
Tulipmania
will transform
Pier 39 into a floral wonderland. Thousands of tulips and other
whimsical floral displays adorn both levels of Pier 39’s bayside
location. Garden buffs are encouraged
to take a free Tulipmania tour, guided by one of Pier 39’s landscaping
pros. Tours are at 10 a.m. daily beginning at the Entrance Plaza. After
each tour, participants are invited to enjoy complimentary coffee,
Biscoff cookies and other refreshments at Fog
Harbor Fish House. For information visit www.pier39.com or call 415-705-5500.
Feb. 23-26, 2012
Pacific Orchid Exposition
Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center
The San Francisco Orchid Society’s 60th annual
Pacific Orchid Exposition will combine the worlds of horticulture
and architecture with a salute to the 75th anniversary of the Golden
Gate Bridge.The largest orchid show in the country, the event showcases
more than 150,000 orchid flowers from all over
the world and offers educational exhibits from local, national and
international orchid growers. Because of its diverse microclimate, the
Bay Area is widely acknowledged as one of the best orchid growing
regions and is home to an array of exotic species. For
information visit www.orchidsanfrancisco.org or call 415-
March 13-17, 2012
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.
More
than 140 of the Bay Area’s most innovative and sought-after floral
designers will create a stunning array of floral arrangements in the de
Young Museum for
Bouquets to Art 2012.
In creating their arrangements, these designers pay tribute
to and draw inspiration from the art in the de Young’s permanent
collections. Lively and engaging floral demonstrations by noted local,
national and international floral designers, and
luncheons and afternoon teas by McCalls on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday complement the flower-bedecked galleries and public spaces in
the museum. For information and reservations visit
www.bouquetstoart.org or call 415-750-3504.
March 21-25, 2012
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show
San Mateo Event Center, 1346 Saratoga Dr., San Mateo
The largest world-class garden festival of its kind in the western United States, the
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, March 21-25, enters its 27th
year with a greener approach that celebrates “Gardens for a Green
Earth.” Twenty full-sized garden installations from top Bay Area
designers and seminars led by well-known experts
will invite attendees of all ages to learn more about forward-thinking,
environmentally friendly techniques for private gardens. Annie
Sommerville, a pioneer in promoting organic cuisine and gardening
through her restaurant, Greens, located at San Francisco’s
Fort Mason, will be among the speakers. Also on deck are Wendy Johnson
of Green Gulch Farms, television personality Martin Yan, Ahmad Hassan of
DIY Network’s “Yard Crashers,” and Joe Lamp’l of “Growing a Green
World.” A marketplace with more than 200 vendors,
a special children’s garden and a show put on by the California Garden
Clubs are also part of the annual festival. For information visit www.sfgardenshow.com or call 925-605-2923.
March 25-April 7, 2012
Macy’s
Flower Show “Brasil: Gardens in Paradise”
Macy’s Union Square
The oldest of
the Macy’s Flower Shows, Union Square’s 66th annual
show celebrates the arrival of the spring season. For two weeks Macy’s
will showcase millions of live flowers, plants and trees from around the
world. This year the gardens reflect everything
from the dense rainforests of the Amazon to colonial Brasil as well as
the colorful inner cities and the beautiful gardens framed by the modern
architecture of Brasilia. Macy’s Flower Show is also a prime showcase
for some of the nation’s most renowned floral
and entertaining designers. This year’s Bay Area designers include
Michael Daigian (Michael Daigian Design), Svenja Brotz (Chestnut and
Vine Floral Design), Talin Tascian (Fleur de Vie), Dominique Pfahl
(Floréal) and Rhonda Stoffel (Grace Street Catering).
For a schedule of events, visit www.macys.com/flowershow or call 415-397-3333.
April 14-15 and 21-22, 2012
San Francisco’s colorful Japantown will burst into full bloom on the weekends of
April 14-15 and 21-22, 2012, when members of Northern California’s Japanese American community gather
to celebrate their 45th annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
Each year more than 200,000 people attend this dazzling tribute to the
color and grace of the Japanese culture and the diversity of the
Japanese American community. The event spans two
weekends and climaxes with a grand parade on Sunday, April 22. Leave
time to explore the oldest Japantown in the United States, roam the food
bazaar, and enjoy traditional arts and crafts including demonstrations
of ikebana (flower arranging) and bonsai (tree
dwarfing). Entertainment stages feature Japanese dancers, martial
artists and taiko drummers. For information, visit
www.nccbf.org or call 415-563-2313.
Perennial Favorites
Don’t
forget, that no matter what the season, Golden Gate Park is a
playground for garden devotees from the profusion of tulips in the Queen
Wilhelmina Gardens to the serene
tranquility of the Japanese Tea Garden. Also of note are the National
AIDS Memorial Grove, the Garden of the Humanitarians, San Francisco
Botanical Garden and the Conservatory of Flowers. With the opening of
the California Academy of Sciences in September
2008, visitors can now explore a living roof planted with 1.7 million
native plants. Four perennial and five wildflower species were chosen
for their ability to thrive in Golden Gate Park.
100 John F. Kennedy Dr., Golden Gate Park
The
oldest structure in Golden Gate Park and the oldest wooden framed
conservatory in the nation completed a $24 million restoration in 2003.
In this spectacular museum
of living plants, immersive displays in five galleries engage visitors
physically, intellectually and emotionally. Known for its extensive
collection of orchids, the Conservatory is one of only four institutions
in the U.S. to house a highlands tropics display
featuring a large and diverse group of high-altitude beauties. For
information visit
www.conservatoryofflowers.org or call 415-831-2090.
Ninth Avenue at Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park
Every
month is petal perfect for visiting the San Francisco Botanical Garden
which covers 55 acres and includes more than 8,000 varieties of plants
from around the world.
Magnolia are at their peak in February and the California Native Plant
Garden is filled with a profusion of calla lilies, California lilac and
pink-flowering currant in the early spring. After enjoying a walk in the
native meadow, stroll along the Redwood
trail through a century-old grove of redwood trees. In 1965 the Garden
of Fragrance was created for individuals with visual impairment to be
able to experience plants through touch and smell. Frequent plant sales
feature brilliant collections of flowering
shrubs and bloomers including native plants at their peak. Docents also
offer a number of tours, birding walks (co-sponsored by the Audubon
Society), children’s story time and family strolls through the gardens.
The Helen Crocker Library is one of the nation’s
finest and most complete horticultural reference book collections and
features seasonally changing art exhibitions. For information visit
www.sfbotanicalgarden.org or call 415-661-1316.
Sixth Street between Brannan and Bryant Streets
“This
is the best flower market in the country,” according to “Martha Stewart
Living.” While largely the purview of florists and professional
landscapers, the San Francisco
Flower Market is open to the public Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3
p.m.; wholesalers have access starting at 2 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays and they “sleep in” on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday when
the market opens to the trade at 5 a.m. Recent
reconnaissance of the market has yielded branches of forsythia, tulips
just at the peak of perfection and flowering plum blossoms. For more
information, visit
www.sfflmart.com or call 415-781-8410.
Tumbling,
tumbling down the eastern slope of Telegraph Hill, the Grace Marchant
Garden (off Filbert Street) is one of the most beautiful spots in the
city. Marchant, who
embarked on her labor of love when she was 63 years old, groomed this
hillside retreat for 33 years. Offering views of the bay, the two-acre
plot is cared for by a cadre of neighbors and volunteers. The climb is
sweetened by fragrant wisteria vines, hydrangeas,
roses, masses of foliage and a bench to catch one’s breath along the
way. Settle in with a good book. Perhaps David Bittner’s “The Wild
Parrots of Telegraph Hill,” which documents his “love story … with
wings,” or David Goodis’ thriller, “Dark Passage” which
featured Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart taking refuge in a nearby
home.
Located in the heart of San Francisco, Yerba Buena Gardens (www.yerbabuenagardens.com) is not only a cultural hothouse but
also the site of several gardens including
the "butterfly garden" in the northeast corner; the Sister Cities
Garden, home to a diverse collection of flowering plants from San
Francisco's 13 sister cities, and a secluded rooftop
garden above Moscone South at Howard and Third streets.
Almost
40 community gardens throughout San Francisco are supported and managed
by the Recreation and Park Department. Each garden is maintained by
volunteers
who grow ornamental plants and produce for personal use. A list of the
locations and open garden days is posted at
http://www.parks.sfgov.org/site/recpark_index.asp?id=27048.
Beginning
where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate
National Recreation Area has grown to more than 75,000 acres since it
was established in 1972.
For 60 minutes or a half-day excursion, it offers access to everything
from a stroll through a restored coastal habitat or a wildflower walk at
Fort Funston in the spring. For some suggestions, call 415-561-4700 or
visit
www.nps.gov/goga.
Alcatraz Historic Gardens Project
In 2003 the
Garden Conservancy and the
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy formed a partnership with the
National Park Service
to restore and maintain key gardens on Alcatraz. Through the Alcatraz
Historic Gardens Project, the partner organizations preserve, rebuild,
and maintain the gardens created by
those who lived on the island during its military and prison eras, and
interpret their history, horticulture, and cultural significance for
visitors. For more than a century, gardens were an important part of
everyday life for officers, families and prisoners
on Alcatraz. Many of the plants selected by these unheralded gardeners
proved to be excellent choices for the harsh and barren environment,
flourishing through the four decades of neglect that followed the
prison’s closing. Visitors can now experience an island
that is alive with colorful plants gathered decades ago from around the
world, and complemented by newly introduced plants. Docent-led tours of
the island gardens are offered twice a week on Friday and Sunday
mornings at 9:30 a.m. starting at the Alcatraz
dock. Alcatraz Cruises (www.alcatrazcruises.com)
serves the island; because tickets sell out quickly, advance
reservations are strongly recommended. For information call 415-981-ROCK
(7625).
San Francisco City Guides
and Friends of the Urban Forest
While
the free San Francisco City Guides tours are known for their
architectural detail, rich historic footnotes, legends and lore, several
have more natural inclinations
including City Scapes and Public Places, Fort Mason to Aquatic Park and
SOMA/Yerba Buena Gardens (year-round). For details call 415-557-4266 or
visit
www.sfcityguides.org.
The City of San Francisco has planted more than 26,800 trees, largely
through neighborhood-based programs organized by Friends of the Urban
Forest (www.fuf.net)
who plant more than 1,000 trees a year. Tree tours are offered throughout the year.
Beyond San Francisco
Many wineries boast impressive demonstration gardens and special garden-related festivals are not uncommon. The
Kendall-Jackson Wine Center
has a 2.5-acre organic culinary garden and their annual tomato festival
featuring 120 varieties of heirloom tomatoes is a summer favorite (5007
Fulton Rd., Fulton, 866-287-9818,
www.kj.com). Some say
Cornerstone Festival of Gardens (23570 Arnold Dr., Sonoma, 707-933-3010,
www.cornerstonegardens.com) are “the most innovative gardens in
America.” Each of the 20 different gardens has been designed by a
well-known landscape architect. For more about the rural wiles of this
area, visit
www.sonomacounty.com or
www.sonomavalley.com.
To the south, visit the splendid gardens at
Filoli (86 Canada Rd., Woodside, 650-364-8300,
www.filoli.org). A
34,000-square-foot Georgian-style home is surrounded by 16 acres of
world-famous gardens. Throughout the year there are art exhibitions,
classes, programs for families and hikes. To the south, Half Moon
Bay is noted for its acres and acres of greenhouses and deals from
roadside stands selling seasonal produce. For a unique experience, take a
drive down Hwy. 92 to Yerba Buena Nursery, the state’s oldest nursery
dedicated to native California plants. Visit
www.visithalfmoonbay.org for more information.