Signs of spring

Coral Wilson

Spring was in the air and the flowers were blooming inside South

Coast Plaza this weekend. A wing of the plaza was transformed into

colorful gardens and creative landscape designs for the 14th annual

Spring Garden Show. Onlookers came for inspiration in addition to the

usual shopping delights.

The show featured more than 75 specialty garden vendors, seminars

and book signings by garden experts, competition gardens and animal

visitors from the Santa Ana Zoo for the children.

Bonsais, ferns, roses, cactus, wildflowers, orchids, vegetables

and carnivorous plants filled all three floors of the Crate and

Barrel/Macy’s Home Store wing.

“What on earth are these?” is the frequent question posed to

California Carnivores’ Marilee Maertz about her Venus’ flytraps and

other carnivorous plants.

“Plants” is her reply.

The best part about bringing her plants out for show is the

reaction of the children, she said. They become fascinated.

“They hang onto the cloth and say [to their parents], ‘Please

don’t make us go,’” Maertz said. “They really think the plants are

cool, and so do we.”

She said children come with books about the plants that are worn,

torn and well read.

“It is like the Pokemon cards, but it is carnivorous plants, and

[the children] are so interested,” she said.

Growing carnivorous plants using tissue culture has made the once

rare plants more popular and widespread, she said, but the plants

still aren’t easy to mass produce.

Michael Landis with the Wildflower Seed Company was one of the

vendors at the first show. He keeps coming back because of the

popularity of his seeds, he said.

Southern California is a great place to grow wildflowers, he said.

“Take a trip right now to the Tehachapi hills to see how glorious

it has been, like a palette of colors,” he said. “It’s spellbinding

-- just gorgeous.”

The spring and the fall are the best times to grow wildflowers, he

said, noting that they are inexpensive, easy to maintain and perfect

for a different, more carefree style of gardening.

“Garden Retreats” was the theme for this year’s creative

competition gardens.

An architect, curator, contractor and garden writer brought in

different points of view for the judging, said Jay Rodriguez,

competition program coordinator. There were separate categories for

professionals and students.

The first place winner in the professional category was Monday

West’s “A Yoga Garden Retreat.” The design offered an interactive

element, providing a secluded space for a person to enter into and

practice yoga.

“I never heard of someone doing this,” Rodriguez said. “It’s brand

new.”

West was inspired when she started taking yoga lessons only six

months ago.

“I have a busy schedule with work and school,” she said. “Doing

yoga made me feel relaxed and serene.”

Yoga practitioners performed several times within the space to

give the judges and admirers an idea of how it could be used.

“They told me that being up there, they couldn’t even tell they

were in the mall,” West said.

“Accidental Paradise” integrated an old truck into a tropical

forest setting. The design was created by three UCLA students.

Student Jeff Eith said he jumped at the opportunity.

“I’d love to do it,” was his response. “Not knowing what’s

involved,” he said.

The project took an intense amount of time and effort, but it was

gratifying to see the project finally come together, he said.

“The people love it,” he said. “I watch people round the corner,

and their jaw just drops.”

Eith, who has one more year before graduation, said the project

made him more excited about his future profession.

“I am not here for the judges, but for the people,” he said,

“because they will be my clients one day.”

Children from Newport-Mesa, Los Angeles and Orange County schools

competed in a separate miniature landscape competition with the theme

“Gardens with a Sense of Adventure.”

“I encouraged the children to think of it as a profession,” said

Michael Ann Powers, children’s garden project coordinator.

She has been offering hourlong gardening classroom presentations

to interested schools, discussing the importance of design and scale

elements with the students.

Leaving six empty flats at each school, the students created

gardens for their favorite books or made-up adventure stories. Some

book themes were “Charlotte’s Web,” “Julie of the Wolves,” “James and

the Giant Peach” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

After watching children raise carnivorous plants over the years,

Maertz said children are often better gardeners than adults.

Like Jack in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, children still

believe in the magic of nature and follow directions. Adults tend to

have their own ideas, are full of doubt and are more fearful, she

said.

“Kids have such success because they have faith and they believe

what we say,” she said. “They have imagination.”

* CORAL WILSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].