2008 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show March 12, 2008

23rd Annual San Francisco Flower & Garden Show
Encouraging Californians to “Live Beautifully – Live Outdoors!”, the fourth largest spring flower and garden show in North America (and the largest in the state) provides expert and aspiring gardeners with four acres of inspiring ideas and useful information with its 22 full-size display gardens, 6 container gardens, 78 free seminars, 250 exhibits with thousands of products and services, a gardening activity area for children and a new women’s health pavilion. (See more details on show attractions below.)

DATES: March 12 – 16, 2008 (Wednesday through Sunday)

HOURS: Wednesday through Saturday - 9 a.m. until 8 p.m and Sunday - 9 a.m. until 6 p.m

LOCATION: The Cow Palace: 2600 Geneva Ave. (at Santos St.) in Daly City, 94014

WEBSITE: www.gardenshow.com

PHONE: (800) 569-2832 and (415) 771-6909

TICKETS: Tickets are available at www.gardenshow.com (printable at home), local nurseries, at the door and by phone: 415-771-6909.

$65 5-Day Pass
$29 Two-Day Pass
$17 Advance Daily Ticket (At participating ticket outlets or online through March 11.)
$20 Regular Admission at door
$16 Group (20 or more, advance sales only; call 800-569-2832)
$13 Half-Day
$9 Student (25 and under with student ID, only sold at the door)
$4 Children ages 6 – 17
Free Children ages 5 and under

NEW THIS YEAR: With an emphasis on the connection between gardening and health, this year’s San Francisco Flower & Garden Show will include a new Women’s Health Pavilion offering free health screenings. Presented by GlaxoSmithKline, it will offer screening to adult attendees. (Men can also take advantage of this free screening.) Patient education literature and screening tests will be provided for bone density, blood pressure and body mass index. Physicians will be present to help participants review their screening results and educate them on various disease states. As part of the free Sunset seminar series, the 3 p.m. Saturday seminar “Gardening for Good Health” will offer tips on how gardeners can get more health benefits from their passion for growing plants and spending time outside.

SHOW FAVORITES:

Display Gardens – 22 display gardens by the West’s top garden designers and creators will come in all sizes and all purposes----for entertaining family and friends, tropical havens and lush woods with water features, a fire-wise garden, an edible garden, low-maintenance gardens, and sustainable gardens featuring California natives and recycled materials, such as colorful tumbled glass. There will even be gardens with beds, an outdoor movie theatre and a shower. The gardens will be judged by David Stevens, Lucy Hardiman and C. Colston Burrell. In addition, six container gardens will demonstrate a variety of approaches to this popular approach to gardening.

Sproutopia: A Place for Kids! Activities and presentations for kids on the Sprout Stage. Fun for the whole family!

Hot Plant Picks – Learn about the hottest new plants in the industry presented by the California Horticulture Society, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.

Seminar Series and DIY Workshops – Sponsored by Sunset magazine, the series features 78 exciting free lectures and hands-on demonstrations by horticulture and garden design experts.
Flower Lobby – Floral displays designed by California Garden Club members. Orchid and succulent displays too.

Bonsai – Experience one of San Francisco's largest collections of miniature specimen trees.

Marketplace and Plant Market – A garden-lover’s shopping paradise where more than 250 retail exhibitors. Artisans and organizations offer the latest and greatest in advice, plants and garden-related items. Unlike typical "home and garden shows," exhibitors are juried to insure that only the highest quality products are displayed.

Food, Wine and Music – Live music, refreshments, and food concessions as well as wine and beer bars throughout the show add to the festive feeling.

FUN FACTS: The Cow Palace show floor and exhibit halls are equivalent to four acres of gardens. The foundation for the display gardens are made up of more than 1,200 cubic yards of mulch and 280,000 pounds of rock. More than 300 theatrical lights are hung from the ceiling above the garden floor. Over 1,000 people work to set up the show. Annual attendance is 40,000-50,000. Attendees at last year’s show spent more than $5 million in flower & garden specific products and services while at the event.

OPENING NIGHT PARTY: The Opening Night Party, a benefit for the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, will be held on Tuesday, March 11, 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., the evening before the Show's public opening. The Opening Night Party is an enchanting evening where guests will be the first to see the display gardens while enjoying entertainment, delicacies and beverages. For more information or tickets call the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society at 415/564-3239 x301 or visit www.sfbotanicalgarden.org.

SPONSORS: Boniva, Subaru, Kitchenworks, Alaska Airlines, American Soil, ABC7-TV (KGO), San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com and American Soil.

(Copied from SAN FRANCISCO FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW - FACT SHEET)

Official Website: http://www.gardenshow.com/sf/index/index.asp