Reality Rocks! a garden
Reality Rocks! a garden
The Reality Rocks! team is very pleased to announce that we are the recipients of two awards at the show; a Gold Medal and the APLD medal.   We are very grateful to the SF Flower & Garden Show and have been honored to have participated in such a wonderful event. 

We wish to thank everyone who has visited our garden.  Thank you for entering our garden, we hope you have enjoyed the experience of being inside the space. 

If you have not yet had a chance to experience our garden, Sunday is the last day to visit before it vanishes from the show floor.  Please do come by and visit us, we look forward to seeing you there!

 
Below please find our plant list for the garden, also viewable on the Garden Design page!

Trees and Bamboo
Acer palmatum 'Ryusen' / Japanese Maple (world's rarest cultivar)
Acer palmatum 'Tobiosho' / Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum dissectum 'Ever Red' / Laceleaf Japanese Maple
Magnolia stellata 'Royal Star' / Star Magnolia
Phyllostachys aureosulcata 'Spectabilis' / Yellow Crook Stem Bamboo
Phyllostachis nigra / Black Bamboo
Podocarpus elongatus 'Icee Blue' / Yellowwood

Shrubs & Grasses
Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' / Golden Sweet Flag
Carex elegantissima / Golden-edged Sedge
Carex flagellifera / Weeping Brown Sedge
Carex testacea / New Zealand Orange Sedge
Cordyline 'Festival Grass' / Red Fountain Cordyline
Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' / Blue Fescue
Helichrysum petiolare / Licorice plant
Helictotrichon sempervirens / Blue Oat Grass
Heuchera 'Regina' / Coral Bells
Heuchera 'Hercules' / Coral Bells
Libertia peregrinans / Orange Libertia
Phormium 'Maori Maiden' / New Zealand Flax
Phormium 'Platt's Black' / New Zealand Flax
Phormium 'Dark Delight' / New Zealand Flax
Phormium 'Yellow Wave' / New Zealand Flax
Stipa tenuissima (aka Nasella tenuissima) / Mexican Feather Grass

Graywater Stream Planting
Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' / Golden Sweet Flag
Equisetum hyemale / Horsetail
Chondropetalum elephantinum / Large Cape Rush
Chondropetalum tectorum / Cape Rush
Juncus patens 'Elk Blue' / California Gray Rush
 
Ethnobotany [def.] is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants.

Aside from their aesthetic value, plants have many uses for us humans. They are the basis of most of our modern day products, including medicine.
We decided to offer a quick summary of some of the hidden functions of the plants we chose to showcase in our Reality Rocks! garden.

Acer palmatum – Japanese Maple
--Even though the concentration of sugar is considerably lower than in the sugar maples (A. saccharum), the tree trunk can be tapped for the syrup in early spring.
--And you probably didn’t know that maple leaves can be cooked and eaten, although we have eaten nicer leaves.
--The leaves can also be used as a preservative, packed around apples or root crops to help preserve longevity.

Philostachys nigra – Black Bamboo.
--Harvest the young shoots in spring. Boil them for 8-10 minutes, change water, and boil again. A distinctive taste and aroma.
--Young dried leaves are used medicinally for treating fevers.
--The canes make good plant supports, or for cabinet work and for decorative inlays. The rhizome (root) is used for umbrella handles, wickerwork, canes, musical instruments and various kinds of handicrafts.

Magnolia stellata – star Magnolia
--A famine food only, but the leaves can be cooked and eaten.

Podocarpus ‘Iced Blue’
--Fruit - raw or cooked in pies, cakes
--A decoction of the fruit is tonic for the heart, kidneys, lungs and stomach.

Acorus gramineus – sweet flag
--One can eat the root cooked. First peel and finely chop and soak in several changes of water. A ginger substitute.
--Although safe for consumption, some caution is advised because other members of this plant family are poisonous.

Cordyline – ‘festival grass’
--You can eat the root – baked or brewed into an intoxicating drink. ----The pith of the trunk can be dried or steamed until soft. Sweet and starchy, it is used to make porridge or a sweet drink.
--The plant has edible shoots.
--The leaves contain a strong fiber, used for making paper, twine, cloth, baskets, thatching, etc.
 
Dodonaea viscosa – Hops bush
--Externally, the leaves are effective when applied to wounds, skin rashes and stings.
--The bark is employed in astringent baths and poultices.

Equisetum hyemale – Horsetail
--A decoction applied externally will stop the bleeding of wounds and promote healing.
--Added to a bath benefits slow-healing sprains and fractures, as well as certain irritable skin conditions such as eczema.
--This plant contains irritant substances and should only be used for short periods of time under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.
--The stems contain 10% silica and are used for scouring metal, a fine sandpaper, a polish for brass.
--The infusion from the stem is an effective fungicide against mildew, mint rust and blackspot on roses!
--A dye is obtained from the stem.

Heuchera micrantha – Alum Root
--The root can be used as a mordant used in fixing natural dyes. The root is rich in tannin, is this the active ingredient that acts as a mordant.

Juncus patens
--Stems contain fiber used in basket and paper making, thatching, weaving mats, braided into ropes etc.

Phormium – New Zealand Flax
--The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute.
--An edible and very wholesome nectar is obtained from the flowers. But you’ll need a long straw or a beak!
--An edible gum is obtained from the base of the
leaves.
--A high quality pliable fiber is obtained from the leaves for twine, fine cloth, paper, nets, sandals, baskets etc. A strip of a leaf is an excellent emergency string substitute for tying up plants in the garden!
--The leaf pulp, after the fibre has been removed, can be fermented to make alcohol.
--A gum found in the leaves is used as a paper glue.
--A dye is obtained from the tannin-rich flowers and seeds, requiring no mordant.

Please enjoy PLANTS.
And be mindful when harvesting and take only small amounts at a time so the population stays strong. It’s best to grow what you need verus harvesting from natural areas.

a disclaimer: We cannot take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

SOURCE www.pfaf.org, compiled by Sara Mossman for Reality Rocks! Garden.
 
Award-winning garden display, Reality Rocks! a garden, now available for viewing through Sunday, at the 2011 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. 

Come see what all of the excitement is about! 
 
Acer palmatum 'Ryusen'
World's rarest Japanese Maple
Come see the world's rarest Japanese maple, Acer palmatum 'Ryusen', in Reality Rocks! a Garden, a temporary garden display at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, March 23-27 (Wednesday through Friday). 

This special maple is provided by Maples For All Seasons Nursery, a boutique nursery specializing in Japanese maples.  They have hundreds of cultivars of Japanese maples suitable for warmer climates such as the San Francisco Bay Area. 

For a 15% discount off of already discounted show prices on this and other Japanese maples, sign up on our interest list at our Home Page

For tickets, visit www.sfgardenshow.com



 
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CK Landscapes is offering a free water audit and landscape assessment to those who schedule their appointment for this at the show (a $150.00 value).  Additionally, for everyone who takes advantage of this special offer, you get another offer on top of that! -- a free fertigation tank for every installation of $10,000.00 and more (a $2,000.00 value). 

So be sure to sign up for this at the show to get CK Landscapes' wonderful water saving expertise for your property! 

What is a fertigation tank, you ask?  This is revolutionary technology that takes drip irrigation to the next level.  Visit our garden to learn more about this water saving, garden boosting technology. 

Whether you have a residential landscape, or if you manage a large corporate or industrial campus, public park or any property large or small, Alex of CK Landscapes can help.  Your water bills can be slashed, and your rebates can be in the thousands of dollars to help you pay for the up front costs of this amazing technology. 

Don't miss out on what could be the best ornamental landscape irrigation technology in the state!  Schedule your appointment at the show! 

 
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SAUNDERS DESIGNS | Landscapes + Gardens is offering a 10% discount off of services.  Simply sign up on the interest list for our services in the garden Reality Rocks! at the upcoming SF Flower & Garden Show. 

The dates are Wednesday March 23 through Sunday March 27. 
Tickets are available from www.sfgardenshow.com

 
Child's Adirondack Chair
Green Frog Outdoor Furniture
Did you just fall in love with Jerry Wilkinson's gorgeous 100% recycled adirondack chairs? 

We did too!  So we asked him to offer something special for the show. 

So be sure to opt in to our Reality Rocks! interest list at the Home page, check your email for the coupon, and use your coupon when ordering from www.greenfrogoutdoorfurniture.com to get your show discount. 

 
Bamboo
Bamboo at Instant Jungle Nursery in Cotati
For those of you who have to have some gorgeous bamboo from our favorite wholesale-to-the-public bamboo supplier, Andy of Instant Jungle in Nor-Cal (located in Cotati) will pay your sales tax!

So be sure to subscribe to our Reality Rocks! interest list at our Home page, and watch in your email box for your "No Sales Tax" coupon.  This coupon will be valid both during and after the show at Instant Jungle until the expiration date shown. 


 
Japanese maple
Japanese Maple in a garden designed by Ami Saunders, MLA
Maples for All Seasons Nursery, who is graciously providing our Japanese maples for the garden is offering an additional 15% off of their already low show special prices to everyone who signs up on our Reality Rocks! interest list here on this site. 

Visit our Home page, and sign up on the opt-in form you will find there to get your discount. 

You love Japanese maples.  We understand. 
We know you can't just stop at owning one Japanese maple...
So stock up and save at the show! 

So be sure to sign up, and receive a coupon via email.  You can download and print the coupon or show it on your smart phone at the event.  We will be sending this coupon via email to all of our subscribers sometime this week.  So if you have already subscribed, be sure to watch in your email for the coupon. 

Visit our Home page, and sign up on the opt-in form you will find there.