Plant Talk: Spring Fling at the E.B. Dunn Gardens

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March 19, 2009

Spring Fling at the E.B. Dunn Gardens

Celebrate spring with a visit to one of our city's garden treasures - the E. B. Dunn Gardens in north Seattle which is opening for tours starting April 1. This Olmsted-designed sanctuary may be known for its fall color, but I think it's especially lovely in springtime. Within the next month, snowdrops and hellebores (like the beauty pictured below) will be finishing up and passing the torch to spring ephemerals like trout lilies, primula, cyclamen and trillium. Mature stands of azalea and rhododendron will burst into color, and if you're really lucky you'll time your visit when the majestic magnolia by the house is opening its lemon-scented, dinner-plate sized blossoms. Be sure and take a peek at the Curator's Garden, designed and tended by master colorists Glenn Withey and Charles Price. Book a tour by email (info@dunngardens.org) or call (206-362-0933); check out the web page for info on open houses and the the second annual Art Walk (save the date - July 18 & 19). Photo courtesy of the Dunn Gardens.

Posted at 07:00 AM in Cool Plants, Dunn Gardens, Horticultural Happenings | Permalink

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Val,

Thank you for the mention! Most appreciated. Plants want to grow, but things are behind, due to our lovely cold winter/early spring.

At some point (in the near future), I hope to see no more snow, wild winds, frost, etc!

Posted by: glenn withey | March 19, 2009 at 08:21 AM

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New Book: Petal & Twig

Petal & Twig Made The New York Times!
From Anne Raver's review: "Valerie Easton, a Seattle-based garden writer, discusses the art of growing and arranging cut flowers in “Petal and Twig: Seasonal Bouquets With Blossoms, Branches and Grasses From Your Garden” (Sasquatch Books; $16.95). Written as an informal diary, with photographs of arrangements from her own garden, and tips on cutting and keeping flowers fresh, the book inspires ideas not only on what to grow but on how to combine (or not) those beauties inside. See review here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/garden/new-books-on-growing-and-arranging-flowers.html?scp=1&sq=petal%20&%20twig%20anne%20raver&st=cse
The first reviews on the new book are in! From Publisher's Weekly:
"Open your eyes and keep it simple: those are two lessons Easton passes on from her own 40 years in the garden. When selecting and arranging flowers for bouquets, you needn’t spend a bundle buying a bundle of imported flowers.....The result will be unique, local, imaginative, and inexpensive. Color photos throughout illustrate and inspire."

In the News

Montreal Blogger Reviews "A Pattern Garden"
I was so pleased to find that "A Pattern Garden" is still being reviewed...check out Allan Becker's generous review on his Garden Guru blog.. I felt like Allan really understood what I was working towards in that book....he writes...."There is a delightful abstract quality to this publication. In it, the author takes good garden design to a higher, more spiritual level. Instead of discussing the aesthetic and scientific elements of design, as so many traditional garden design books do, she focuses on the role played in garden design by archetypal ideas - a.k.a. patterns - that reference the longings of human beings. These pleasure and comfort-rooted ideas are those that inspire designers to create gardens that are satisfying beyond their beauty." see more at http://allanbecker-gardenguru.squarespace.com/journal/valerie-easton
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Check out this interview with Val in the Chicago Tribune on using art in the garden...

About

The New Low Maintenance Garden

Reviews Are In....
"Over the years, countless books have espoused a low-maintenance approach to gardening. None have been as engaging, practical, or inspiring as this latest of Easton's contributions to the gardener's bookshelf,"
- Pacific Horticulture magazine, Jan/Feb/Mar 2010
"A handy guide to a garden you can raise without a corresponding increase in your blood pressure..handsome and informative...."
- Metropolitan Home, Dec. 2009
"This book is an invaluable addition to the garden library – destined to be a classic for many years to come."
- Garden Design Online