SF Flower and Garden.

Things have been crazy hectic around Chez Snarkolepsy this week. But I'm also aware I need to feed the beast that is my blog. I have to keep reminding myself that this is winter and I wouldn't be getting much interesting anyway. The constant shining sun makes it feel like summer, and normally I would be getting cars and other interesting stuff in summer.

The SF Flower and Garden show usually has some interesting sculptures for the blog. I went this year because they were advertising "low water" alternatives. I was slightly excited to see what they'd come up with. Which turned out to be the least inventive alternatives ever. Cactus. It does achieve the goal, however - most of us like to touch things and not be poked constantly. I ripped out a fleet of rosebushes just because getting attacked by them outweighed their beauty. And bunnies LOVE roses! I think when I bought my place it had something like 25 of them.

Anyway....

I walked away from the show with an immense feeling of lost opportunity. I'm the opposite of an environmentalist. I love the smell of old timey gas. I once fantasized about making a car that got negative gas mileage just to piss off the environmentalists. I will cut down a tree so fast it will make your head spin.

Having said that - I could not believe how many water features that were there. Not that I don't think you should be able to have whatever the eff you want in your yard. It just seems to me when you are in the epic drought we are - I'd be selling the hell out of the Xeriscaping. Which are basically plants for a more Mediterranean climate. Like prairie wildflowers. I've never actually heard anyone use the word Xeriscape in California. Which surprises me.

I can't remember how many years ago I ran across this. There are always parts of a house that it's almost impossible to get water to. And I still want stuff to be pretty. I've been buying plants from High Country Gardens longer than I can remember. And I was hoping there would be more of those types of companies at the show. I did find one out of Watsonville, but their website sucked so hard I couldn't believe it.

Apparently Colorado owns the trademark on the Xeriscape name, and that is where I get most of the plants for hard to water areas. Low water doesn't have to be ugly cactus. Most of the stuff they sell for Xeriscape attract butterflies and humming birds. They look delicate and pretty. And who doesn't love that?