Here's my first report from the F&G Show - stay tuned for inspired details, the disasters, and trends to watch for....
It was bustling at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show this afternoon, with goats bleating, designers putting the final touches on their creations, and vendors scurrying to stock commercial booths. It was great to see the Convention Center alive with garden energy....
What one thing did I most want to take home with me? The moss recliner, left - you can lust after it too when you cross the skybridge to pick up this year's free stunner of a Great Plant Picks poster....
I was judging gardens for Pacific Horticulture magazine, but I'm not sure when the winners will be announced... so I'll just tell you about my favorite gardens. Loved the Family Farm In the City, right inside the main doors, with darling goats (one escaped while we were there -it doesn't seem right that live animals should be on display in that place!!! PETA where are you??). A collaboration by designer Jessica Bloom of NW Bloom EcoLogical Landscapes and Seattle Tilth, this is a utilitarian garden, full of good ideas, yet so attractive and comfortable. The garden feels real, personal, with water catchment, a covet-able outbuilding, a hogwire fence, gabion walls, stream, cob oven, edibles, cold frame, patio and dining table...it's really an inspiration of a garden, and right on trend. How Jessica squeezed so many elements in such a little space and kept it feeling harmonious I don't know, but she did. I predict this intimate little garden will influence more show visitors than any other..
Top to bottom: one of the goats, stream, and path lined with hay bales & one of several raised beds:
The cleverest garden uses an old pick up truck as a container; "Crops for Clunkers" by Seattle Urban Farm Company is a transportable vegetable patch that uses every inch of truck to house chickens, and grow a mini-orchard, vegetables and plenty of salad greens.
The Washington Park Arboretum's "The Garden In Winter" shows what we can do right now in our own gardens, with effective design and gorgeous plants...especially the peeling bark birches, camellia 'Yuletide' in full bloom, hellebores, and a fragrant little grove of 'Arnold's Promise' witch hazels.
Farm In the City, right inside the main doors, with darling goats (one escaped while we were there -it doesn't seem right that live animals should be on display in that place!!! PETA where are you??). A collaboration by designer Jessica Bloom of NW Bloom EcoLogical Landscapes and Seattle Tilth, this is a utilitarian garden, full of good ideas, yet so attractive
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