SF Flower and Garden Show
ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) Student Group Project
Subsumption - the absorption of one substance into another - is demonstrated in our garden through the imperceptible complex symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and the root systems of native plant communities endemic to California and the Bay Area.
The garden celebrates the Golden Chanterelle, California’s new State Mushroom (https://www.calparks.org/blog/meet-californias-new-state-mushroom-california-golden-chanterelle), and its symbiotic relationship with Coast Live Oaks. Mycorrhizal fungi contribute to plant health by promoting a substrate more readily available to “subsume” water and vital nutrients.
Lights around the garden represent the vital nutrients subsumed through the root systems. A bench rising from and returning into the ground, with natural tree stumps succeeded by lumber products, further interprets the concept.
The garden displays native plants that thrive in Bay Area gardens in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi, encouraging gardeners to create healthy habitats for oaks, a keystone species that supports countless life forms. When oak woodlands thrive, so do chanterelles, and vice versa.
More information about the design and process: https://artuaslastudents1.wixsite.com/subsume-garden
