Our family tree… Out on a Limb
April 8 and 9, 2017
The Coronado Flower Show – founded in 1922 – is the nation’s largest flower show “under one tent” and for two days in April will offer colorful and fragrant fun in the center of town at Spreckels Park. A popular part of the Flower Show is the Marketplace. A host of vendors provide flower and garden-related merchandise and donate a portion of their sales to the Coronado Floral Association. They include:
Momma’s Pots: “We get moving so fast in our high tech world, that we don’t stop to appreciate things that are natural and pretty,” says Blaine Tiongson of El Cajon. But when an injury forced her to stay home from work, Blaine discovered the joys of gardening and launched a line of hand-painted terracotta pots, which she and right-hand-gal Theresa Solis fill with plants they propagate. At the Momma’s Pots booth, shoppers pick a pot, and the proprietors suggest a plant to fit the environment where it will live; then the shoppers top off their selection with mosses, gravels or rocks, and it’s all tied up with a Japanese-style fabric. Momma’s Pots also sells bath balms and soy-based candles.
Sand Dollars: The popular gift shop at North Island Naval Air Station is a perennial Flower Show favorite with gift items that feature garden themes as well as items with a patriotic flare.
Plumeria Joe: Retired fire captain Jody Rogers is a native San Diegan who grew up in Point Loma and has always enjoyed gardening. A few years ago when he trimmed his over-the-rooftop plumeria, he didn’t know what to do with all the cuttings. “So I started potting them up,” he said, using his own organic compost and visiting farmers markets. His plumerias are the celidine variety – “That’s the most fragrant variety, white with a yellow center, the ones the make Hawaiian leis out of,” he said. His booth will sell both his plumerias and organic compost. “It’s PH balanced, very fertile and filled with earthworms,” he adds.
Ex Libris Books: Architect Veronica Marshall began dabbling in books, offering books that matched the themes of local charity groups in her Point Loma neighborhood some 20 years ago and now her well curated selecdtions are sought for charity events throughout the county. She has developed a specialty in garden-related books including farm-to-table cookbooks, succulents, roses, floral design, bridal designs using florals, and kids books on gardening. “I specialize in finding high quality books that I offer at low prices,” said Marshall.
RainThanks and Solobees: “One inch of rain falling on a 1,000 square-foot surface equals 623 gallons of water,” notes Candace Vanderhoff, a licensed architect, LEED accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council, and certified Permaculture designer. She is the owner of San Diego-based RainThanks, which provides rainwater catchment systems, greywater reuse systems and low-tech landscape sculpting and terracing to retain water on site. After living on several small fragile islands in Micronesia where she taught architecture at a Jesuit boy’s trade school, she founded RainThanks in 2009 and has since installed hundreds of water harvesting systems, along with edible landscapes, beautiful pollinator gardens and simple, low-tech earthworks to retain water in the soil.
In 2012, she built a shelter for native bees, which she dubbed the Solobee. “California has more than 1,200 species of bees that don’t produce honey but are in need of shelters,” Vanderhoff said. “With native habitats decreasing, it’s more important than ever that we help our bees who pollinate one-third of our food. No bees… no fruits and vegetables!”
My Rustic Garden: My Rustic Garden, offering garden-related “reused, upcycled and renewed” works in metal and wood, is based in La Mesa, but was born after a road trip in 2006 through the great state of Texas.
“I’ve always held a special place in my heart for the handiwork of artisans, a love of plants and all natural elements,” says owner Lenore Lenski. “While winding my way through the state, I was struck by the beautiful and intricate gates, trellises and planters of all shapes and sizes. It was after this trip that I was introduced to the families who crafted these items and began to build a relationship with them. I knew that I wanted to bring a little bit of their history and beautiful handmade works to California.”
