WHAT'S IN STORE?     

Much like your love, these Valentines will blossom year-round.  

Honey, Bee Mine

Help your honey save the bees! Our honey bee garden kit ($13.95) includes coconut husk starter pots, plant markers and a collection of flowers to spread the love among these important pollinators.

Viola Valentine

This sweet and fragrant edible flower is packaged in a self-watering cultivation kit ($12.95), for the valentines with too much else on their plate.

Let Love Grow

A great way to say "I dig you!" This adorable Wish Garden kit ($18.95) propagates all life's essentials including love (forget-me-nots), friendship (sweet pea) and happiness (lavender).

Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful

Amy Stewart's New York Times Bestseller ($5.00) is an exposé into the international flower trade, and explains why that bouquet of roses may not smell much like roses. Gift it along with our Fragrant Flower Scatter Garden ($12.00).

For the Real Thing, Baby

Living orchids are hand-preserved in lacquer, some are dipped in gold, and turned into a variety of necklaces and brooches ($25.00). A must for the orchid-lover you love.

Playland at the Conservatory tee shirts, magnets, films and books are also available online.  

Content and photos provided by Annie Abernethy.  

Professional photographer Allen Rokach will join us on February 28 to teach a day long workshop on digital floral photography. Rokach's distinguished career includes fourteen years as the staff photographer and Director of Photography at the New York Botanical Garden, and ten years as a Senior Photographer for Southern Living magazine, as well as editorial assignments for National Geographic, the New York Times, and Better Homes & Gardens, amongst a vast number of other publications. He took the time to answer a few questions about his photography, and the upcoming workshop.       

I began taking photographs some 40 years ago while working as a geologist. My photos then were strictly functional, though I always enjoyed being in some of the beautiful outdoor locations. When I gave up geology, I decided to make photography my profession, though I wasn't very good. I learned on the job, but also took workshops with some outstanding photographers, such as Ernst Haas, Bruce Davidson, Arnold Newman, and Roman Vishniac. They were wonderful people who guided me, encouraged me, and helped me transform my vision. In the late 1970s, I landed a position as Director of Photography at the New York Botanical Garden. That's when I got hooked on photographing flowers, something I really hadn't done much before. 

I grew up in Brooklyn as a child of immigrants. I remember being fascinated by National Geographic magazines, but never in a million years did I believe I would actually travel to such exotic locations. Fortunately, I have managed to get photographic assignments that have literally taken me around the world - to all seven continents. The farthest I've ever gone is probably Papua New Guinea, which I did on an assignment for the National Geographic! In between my travels, I make my home in Florida and New York.

I can't say that I have specific favorite locations but my greatest love is outdoor location photography. I love photographing flowers, whether they are in the wild or in gardens. As I explored America's public gardens, national parks and other nature locations with my camera, I collected enough images to produce my first book, written with my wife, Anne Millman: "Focus on Flowers: Discovering the Beauty of Flowers in Gardens and Wild Places," which won the Award for Excellence from the Garden Writers of America. I also love all aspects of nature and have traveled the world in search of magnificent natural locations, birds and other wildlife. As a result, Anne and I produced a six-book series of field guides on aspects of nature photography (flowers, gardens, trees, landscapes, birds, seasons). 

I am not a gardener, but I love photographing gardens.  Over the years I've photographed America's leading botanical gardens and countless private gardens for books like "Gardens of the Heartland" and for all major gardening magazines, especially for Southern Living, where I was Senior Photographer for many years. 

I love photographing flowers!  Flowers are beautiful, yet every flower that I have ever photographed was a challenge. It's the challenge that makes the process of making imaginative pictures of flowers so exciting.

When I began, the only way to make photographs was with film. I switched to digital eight years ago. It was a challenge and it was a long learning curve for me, but it was worth it. Digital photography opened up a whole new world of wonderful possibilities. I now see the world of photography quite differently than I did just a few years ago - and I enjoy sharing those insights with students.

First, I enjoy getting instant feedback. I don't have to wonder and wait to find out how the image looks. Also, I enjoy being able to take as many images as I want without additional cost. And, of course, I enjoy using after-capture software (e.g. Photoshop) to improve or transform an image in ways that would be impossible using film. Today we have the freedom to create images based on our imagination and that's very exciting and liberating. 

Most importantly, I want participants to feel they got what they needed from this workshop, that they learned what they needed to learn. My workshops are not one-size-fits-all. I try very hard to respond to the needs of every participant. I do this in the field while we are shooting and at the review sessions we hold in the classroom.

I know from many years of offering photo workshops that everyone has a creative core, everyone can learn and everyone can improve. We may learn in different ways and at different speeds. We may start from different places. Some may need to learn techniques and develop their skills. Others may need to find their personal vision and gain confidence in finding their creative selves. We are all unique and I strongly believe that everyone can create meaningful, imaginative photographs. There are no failures. Photography is wonderfully accessible means of self-expression and my passion is to help you discover your own form of expression as a flower photographer.

People ask me, "Is it possible to learn to be creative with the camera?" My experience has been that it certainly is!  Some of you will learn from instructions and demonstrations; some will learn from the critique sessions and some will gain insight by seeing how others approached the same subjects. With a small group shooting in the same area and using the same basic equipment, you will see that each individual will find a unique photographic perspective.  As we review each person's work, you will be amazed by how each of us sees the world differently. I get tremendous pleasure from guiding this learning process and seeing how much fun people have along the way. 

For more information about the February 28 workshop, and other upcoming events, visit:  

conservatoryofflowers.org/events/specialevents or click here to register. All photos in this article by Allen Rokach.   

READ ALL ABOUT IT!  

NEW SF Chronicle Datebook Front page story in Datebook shares the surprise elements of Playland, chronicles visitors experiences and tells about the exhibit's unsung heroes. Then writer Peter Hartlaub challenges our staff to rig a video camera on a boat! Stay tuned, readers...   

NEW SFGATE The Big Event Chronicle event concierge Peter Hartlaub delves further into Playland nostalgia in this follow up to this Datebook article, with photos from the Chronicle archives.  

NEW 7 x 7 Guest Blog features the Moms at Red Tricycle as they review our dazzling miniature Playland! 

NEW Marin IJ The Master Gardeners column offers advice about how to keep busy in your garden during the winter months... from learning how to compost, pruning dead wood, or cleaning your tools and toolbox...and if it's too cold outside, suggests a visit to the tropical Conservatory!

NEW Backwoods Cottage What a delight to read this visitor's account of her visit to the Conservatory in December! The post includes really colorful photos of our orchids. There's a second blog entry if you click 'More Photos of our Visit' for some blooming bromeliads.. and our favorite neighbor, Claude.

NEW Far Out Flora Some of our favorite visitors stopped by during the holidays! Check out the blog post from the duo at Far Out Flora, as they explore Playland at the Beach, which may or may not be featuring a Fountain of Youth! Is that why our turtles are so energetic these days?