JOHN MUIR MEDICAL CENTER'S NEW ADDITION

In mid-April, my local hospital, John Muir Medical Center's facility in Walnut Creek, opened a new building, the Tom and Billie Long Patient Tower.

As a neighbor and a patient of this medical center, I've been following the progress of this new building for over a decade.

Just before it's April 17, 2011, opening, there was a big community open house where we got to tour the building. It is a beautiful state-of-the-art medical facility. Not only is the inside of the building spectacular, so is the outside.

Last week, Louie and I set out to take a walk around John Muir's new landscape, hardscape, and public art.

Keeping with the theme of the hospital's name, the landscape pays tribute to John Muir and his explorations in the High Sierra.



The following two photos are of rocky "mountains" with a waterfall that becomes a blue glass river leading from the mountains to the hospital entrance.




I especially like that there are many park-like areas around the building where people can sit, meditate, or simply eat their lunch. I've spent my share of time hanging around hospitals with nowhere to sit or relax or just have some time for myself. At John Muir, there is an abundance of seating areas, walkways, and interesting plants and art.




One of the most peaceful places to sit is in Sharon's Garden, a garden, financed by donations from Don and Sharon Ritchey. It has benches, inspirational quotes and a sculptural backdrop representing mountains.



The hospital faces both La Casa Via and Ygnacio Valley Road. These photos are part of the landscape along Ygnacio Valley Road and winding around to the La Casa Via side.

SF FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW IS HERE THROUGH 3/27/11

There are just a few more days of the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show which opened this week on Wednesday 3/23/11. The show closes this Sunday, 3/27/11.

For one reason or another, I've not been to the show since its early days in the mid 1980s, when it was at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

This year, because I am studying Landscape Design, and because I was intrigued by the pre-show press about this year's emphasis on edible gardens, I decided it was time to spend at least a day at the show.

As luck would have it, I chose Thursday, the day we had torrential rains all day in the Bay Area.

I will say, the drive to San Mateo (the show is at the San Mateo Event Center) was less than pleasant, but, once there, I was warm and dry and starting having hope that the rain will eventually stop and I will be able to, once again, be out working in my own garden.

The San Francisco Flower & Garden Show is quite different from my memories of its early days.

What has remained, and what I consider the mainstay of the show, are the Garden Displays created by local Landscape Designers. This year there are 19 Garden Displays, 18 of them are in the Expo Hall and one, Star Apple's Edible Garden, a 6,000 square foot display, is off in an enormous tent by itself.

These are photos from some of the displays that caught my attention:

"Fresh Ideas: Born and Raised in California" by Ah Sam Flowers, Florist and Greenhouses:





"Latitude" by McKenna Landscape:






"A Garden for Life" by Filoli Center and The Garden Route Company:



"Edible Garden: The Modern Homestead" by Star Apple Edible & Fine Gardening:






"Pi R Squared" by Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architects:







"Plant Lab" by University of California at Berkeley Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning:



"Reality Rocks" by Saunders Designs and CK Landscape:








There is a huge Flower & Plant Market that occupies about 3/4 of another exhibition hall, the Fiesta Hall. Here, show attendees can buy all kinds of living plants, from a single pot of herbs, to hard-to-find bulbs, to enormous trees. My observation of the the Flower & Plant Market is that the buyers have their favorite nurseries and come year after year to purchase from them at the show. It's a great way to purchase from and see the plants of nurseries that are not in your own neighborhood.





Most of the remaining area in both halls was dedicated to booths filled with garden accessories, tools, furniture and other items, most of which had some connection to flowers and gardens. I saw booths selling clothing with floral patterns, jewelry with floral designs, and some selling vinegars, oils, pasta and who-knows what else.

Some of the Educational exhibits included a Wine Tasting area and the Western Horticultural Society's New Plant Picks exhibit.

There are two separate buildings where Cooking Demonstrations by local Bay Area chefs



and Seminars by gardening and landscape experts are being held. Each day, there is a different schedule of these educational programs.

There are additional educational programs at the DIY Stage and in the Edible Garden, as well as special programs for kids.

One of the highlights of my day was the Cooking Demonstration by chef Andrea Froncillo, of the Stinking Rose, Bobo's, The Franciscan, The Dead Fish and several other Bay Area restaurants.

Chef Froncillo prepared a mixed green salad with a fresh raspberry dressing, steamed mussels with linguica, and pan-cooked steaks. There had to be at least 100 people at his demonstration, and he and his sous-chef made enough for all of us to enjoy generous samples of each dish.



On Saturday, Chef Alice Waters will speak about the Garden to Table Movement on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and do a cooking demonstration at 2:30 p.m. On Sunday, Chef Roland Passot will take to the Chef Stage for a cooking demonstration at 3:00 p.m.


Other random thoughts/details on the show:

As hardcore a shopper as I am, I was disappointed that such a large part of the exhibit halls was dedicated to merchandise, some of which had extremely remote connections to anything related to flowers and gardening. I would have preferred even more Garden Displays instead.

The Flower & Garden Market is wonderful and an amazing opportunity to buy plants and connect with growers from all over the Bay Area.

The Cooking Demonstrations and other Educational Seminars are an excellent compliment to the exhibits. I had scheduled my visit so I could spend the entire day at the show. If it were not for the Chef demonstration and some seminars, I would have seen what I came for in a few hours, hardly making it worth the time and cost of admission.

If I were returning to the show this weekend, I'd want to see both chefs as well as attend such seminars as "Growing Edibles in Containers," "The Art of Bonsai," and "When Bad Things Happen to Good Plants."


The best place to get lunch is in the Expo Hall where there are a few small food booths and a coffee bar in one corner. I had a wonderful carved-to-order turkey sandwich, served with potato salad, at the Deli for a reasonable $8.



There is a big cafeteria style restaurant in the Fiesta Hall, with more seating, but very long lines.


The Admission price of $20 (children under 16 FREE), includes all the demonstrations and seminars. Parking costs $10.

SOMETIMES A WALK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS SURPRISES

So, today was one of my "big" walk days, since I am not yet back on my bike. When I walk from home, I generally head to a shopping center about a mile and a half from home. There, I take a break at Peet's and head back home. Coming and going, there is not too much going on...just typical suburbia.

But, today was different. As I rounded the corner from my street, what did I see? Two big trucks from a company called Jet Mulch, spraying bark around my neighborhood's new droughtscape!

I must admit, I've been taking regular walks by this project which has been going on for more than a week. Our landscapers are removing grass in many areas and replacing it with drought-resistant plantings. Both the corners that lead into our neighborhood are experiencing the most dramatic changes...and they are looking very nice.

Given that Northern California is experiencing a serious water shortage, we could not keep lawns watered through another hot summer. The new droughtscape is a practical and beautiful solution.

In smaller areas within our neighborhood, the gardeners have been spreading the pine bark by hand, but for this bigger area, they brought in the big guns! JET MULCH!

From the truck, there is a long wide hose from which they blow the bark where it is needed.




As you can gather, I am amused by many things and spent awhile watching the process before continuing on to Peet's where I had my first Lime Ginger Green Tea Cooler of the season (they just brought this refreshing drink back on April 1!).