A beautiful garden’s ability to relax the body, refresh the senses and restore the soul is manifest in the garden wonderland at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, which runs through Sunday.

Nevada County artisans play a significant role in this year’s event, which is the most prestigious in California, the sixth-largest garden show in the world and features 22 full-size display gardens. The five-day show includes free lectures, practical workshops and other attractions such as “Sproutopia: A Place for Kids!”
This year’s theme, “Live Beautifully, Live Outdoors,” focuses on the health of the earth, as well as showing how to use recycled and sustainably produced materials and low-maintenance plants.

Nevada City landscape architect Rebecca Coffman has teamed up with Felton landscaper Tom Reily in creating “Inside Out: The California Lifestyle.”
This romantic garden features a hand-crafted bed created by North San Juan craftsman William Crosby. The garden incorporates a water catchment system and cistern, solar hot-water roof tiles, a wall system of Durisol (a recycled building product), recycled wood, fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles and furniture made from a fallen native cypress and native plants.

Water garden specialist Nathan Beeck, of Clear Water Designs in Auburn, created a waterfall and pond for a garden with a Costa Rican flair titled, “Jungle Skinny Dip.”

Other local exhibitors include:

• Casey and Deborah Bridges of Sacred Stone Garden Art, whose evocative cast-stone sculptures of Asian deities have been seen at Weiss Brothers Nursery in Grass Valley. (www.sacredstone.net).

• Peggy Wright, owner of FloorArtWorks in Nevada City, is a first-time exhibitor with imaginative, hand-painted canvas rugs using contemporary and ethnic textile color combinations and design.

“They’re incredibly functional, best utilized in high traffic areas. And they’re great for hypo-allergenic environments,” Wright said.

• Rob Matthews and Leslie Guinan, of North San Juan, are repeat exhibitors, with eye-catching benches, table tops and wall hangings created with iridescent glass in concrete that is stained to look like stone. (www.hiddenspringdesigns.com).

• Byers Leaf Guard from Grass Valley offers a “must see” attraction for those weary of getting on the roof to clean out rain gutters. The gutters are designed so rainwater flows into them, but leaves, twigs and pine needles roll off the edge (www.byersleafguard.com).

• A Nevada City firm, Photographs of Old America, (www.photosofoldamerica.com) offers pictures of antique cars, trains, ships and views of bygone eras.

Admission to the show, at 2600 Geneva Ave. in Daly City, is $20 for adults and $13 for a half-day pass; children under 5 are free. Parking is $10. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. For complete details, call (800) 569-2382 or visit www.gardenshow.com.

Dick Tracy is a former gardening writer for The Union and The Sacramento Bee. He lives on the family ranch in Grass Valley.