Coronado Flower Show

LESLIE CRAWFORD

The Rose section is one of the largest and most popular in the Flower Show. Roses are judged by American Rose Society accredited judges with 18 special awards presented at the awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

In Full Bloom

Coronado Flower Show celebrates spring on the island

April is one of my favorite months in Coronado. It’s when the Coronado Floral Association holds its annual flower show in Spreckels Park. This year’s theme is “2020 Vision, Looking to the Future,” chaired by Diana Drummey.

Our town’s longest-running, and well-loved, tradition, the Coronado Flower Show began in 1922 by Harold Taylor, Coronado photographer and horticultural enthusiast. Taylor was a close

By LESLIE CRAWFORD

friend to Alfred Robinson, the founder and president of the San Diego Floral Association. With good connections, help from the community and, assuming some mentoring from Robinson, Taylor founded the Coronado Floral Association and subsequently held the first flower show.

The schools loaned desks and typewriters, the Hotel del Coronado provided trellises and tables, the Navy provided tents and local Boy Scout troops camped in

the park to provide security. Other than canceling a few years during WWII, the show has become a yearly tradition and a signature event for Coronado.

Planning for the show begins months before the event when a theme for the upcoming show is chosen and sections are organized. Collaborative meetings with the City of Coronado coordinate all city services for the weekend. Tent layouts are configured and arrangements are made for

equipment. As the largest tented flower show in the nation, there are a lot of moving parts.

In preparation for tent setup, the public works department gets Spreckels Park ready for its big weekend with extra TLC to the grass, trimming trees and ensuring the park infrastructure is in good working order to handle thousands of people over the weekend. In addition to a yearly grant to pay for the tents, City of Coronado provides numerous other resources to make sure the show goes smoothly with lots of support before, during and after Flower Show weekend; from traffic control to trash collection, police enforcement, and emergency services if the park infrastructure has problems, to name a few.

Two weeks before the Flower Show, Coronado Floral Association sponsors Home Front Judging. Volunteer judges fan out all over town ,and using a set of guidelines, judge the landscaping efforts of residences, apartments, condominiums, businesses, churches, schools, hotels, municipal buildings and median gardens. It’s all in good fun and aims to bring the community together to beautify Coronado.

In the early morning hours of Monday before Flower Show weekend, Raphael’s Rentals arrives at Spreckels Park, offloading piles of tents and infrastructure, and the work begins. It takes four full days to set up what essentially becomes a small town within the park. By Thursday the big work is complete, the fire marshal has inspected, and the “all clear” is given for the different sections to begin setting up the magic inside the tents.

And among all the flora is live entertainment in the bandstand, vendors selling garden-related materials, plants and snacks and the ever-popular beer garden. Children’s exhibits showcase a whimsical

“Zoo’s Whos” (animals made from fruits and vegetables) and seed plates creatively arranged by preschool and kindergarten students. The Youth Section has activities for the kids, too, while the “Men’s Section” entries usually take on a humorous and sometimes political air (winners are chosen by popular vote). The table arrangements section entries are decorated based on section themes. Within the educational exhibits are the always popular wildflowers, gathered around San Diego County by volunteers who have special permits to collect protected plantings.

A newer addition to the show

is a floral photography exhibit, which is

open to the public for entry, but reservations are required.

Most of the show’s entries are judged by official Flower Show judges, who are trained and accredited by National Garden Clubs following a rigid set of criteria. Judges come to the show by invite from all over Southern California.

During Flower Show weekend, there are other events at Spreckels Park. Friends of the Coronado Library holds its annual Book Fair

next to the Flower Show with thousands of donated books for sale. In the last few years, the two events have been connected, so you can go back and forth between both events.

Coronado Art Association’s Art in the Park will be set up on the other side of the park, featuring artists selling their work. On Saturday afternoon, Coronado High School’s advanced art students will draw chalk art masterpieces, “Where eARTh Meets the Sea,” across the street on the Coronado Public Library walkways.

On Saturday evening, April 18, the Coronado Floral Association will host the Spring Fling inside the Flower Show tents, an opportunity

FLOWER SHOW APRIL 2020

Coronado Flower Show • Hours: 1- 5 p.m. April 18; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 19 • Location: Spreckels Park, 601 Orange Ave. • Admission: $5; children under 12 and Coronado Floral Association members are free. • Entries accepted: 4-6 p.m. April 17; 7-9:30 a.m. April 18

Spring Fling: Through the Looking Glass • Hours: 6:30-9:30 p.m. April 18 • Location: Spreckels Park • Tickets: $50 in advance; $60 on day of the event CoronadoFlowerShow. com

to nibble, sip and celebrate spring under the stars in Spreckels Park. This year’s party is “Through the Looking Glass.” On Sunday morning, the Rotary Pancake Breakfast at Village Elementary, is a carb-loading social event to fortify show-goers for the second action-packed day. Don’t forget to drive around and look at the top 10 winners in the Home Front judging competition.

This is your show so bring your entries, big and small. Anyone can enter the show, including nonCoronado residents. There are plenty of other ways to participate in addition to entering. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities and you can also support the Coronado Floral Association by becoming a member ($35 annual fee).

I’m excited for this year’s Flower Show, and I hope you are, too. Hundreds of volunteers step up to support the events during this busy weekend, bringing the community together.

Put a little spring in your step and come see all the good things growing!

In the Design Division, Table Design is a very popular tent. It is judged by NGC judges and there is also a popular vote by flower show attendees.