The weather gods are smiling on the Northwest F&G Show - all that sunshine got us psyched up for gardening, and then today's rain made it easier to head inside for the first day of the show.
I'm giving a talk tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. in the Rainier Room on making simple, natural bouquets from the garden, and signing books after - hope to see you there....but today I explored the booths and the marketplace - here are a few highlights....
When it comes to plants, I only bought a few dahlias and lilies, which hold up well until the soil warms up enough to plant them. The hellebores and orchids were enticing, but I resisted. Ravenna Gardens has beautiful, fat bunches of pussywillow for $11.00. Don't miss the bustling Children's PlayGarden - they've recreated a nostalgic 1950's kitchen and carport as entry to the garden filled with kids having a great time.
Be sure and stop by the Chocolate Flower Farm booth for a delicious whiff of chocolate candles, a selection of dark plants, and a visit with proprietress Marie Lincoln.
Timothy Coleman of Good Nature Publishing (Booth 2367) is offering an inspiring assortment of his gorgeous environmental posters as well as magnets and key chains ($3.50 each) with wildflower art by Vashon Island botanical artist Jean Emmons.
Check out these cool sedum at the Butchart Garden booth -
And linger on the skybridge to see the container displays. I particularly liked this one with the swirled metal container and lovely mix of texture and flower, and the simplicity of designer Wendy Welch's sophisticated chaise and orange pot. What an evocation of summer to come...
Bob Bowling of Whidbey Island had already sold one of his covetable sheds right off the sales floor by Wednesday afternoon - but he's happy to make more....Bob's charming sheds, made of mostly recycled and repurposed materials, are featured in my column in Pacific Northwest mag this coming Sunday.
The flower arrangements in the South Lobby are always pretty amazing - this one won the top prize....and while its architecture is impressive, it's the antithesis of the backyard bouquets in "Petal & Twig"..
And be sure and look up Stubborn Twig Design - it's artist Meredith MacLeod's first time at the F&G Show with her beautiful journals and bird cards...
I do like that last artist. I will go find Stubborn Twig tomorrow. Great name.
Good day today.
Great to see you.
TSC
Posted by: Timothy | February 08, 2012 at 08:50 PM
A great tour of what is in store! Can't wait to see it all. Looking forward to your upcoming article. xx
Posted by: Karen | February 08, 2012 at 09:46 PM
Another great post! Do you know the maker of that fabulous white chaise?
Posted by: Lauren Hall-Behrens | February 09, 2012 at 08:59 AM
I can't believe that arrangement won first place...there's no rhyme or reason to it at all, that I can see and it looks fake! Half of that stuff doesn't even grow around here. I really think the Northwest Flower and Garden show, should be just that...about the Northwest!
Posted by: Chris | February 09, 2012 at 12:34 PM
Hi Val, loved your presentation! Can you share your wonderful quote about "lo-fi"? It was superb, but too long for my limited working memory capacity to fully capture!
Posted by: Ruth | February 09, 2012 at 12:57 PM
Hi Chris,
I couldn't agree with you more, but honestly that arrangement was better than some, because it at least had color and line going for it. Some were very heavy and gloomy as well as artificial-looking. I think it's an art form I just can't appreciate - why manipulate flowers that are so beautiful when fresh and natural??
Posted by: valerie Easton | February 09, 2012 at 04:00 PM
Hi Ruth,
It was great to meet you today at my talk..."lo'fi" is a term I just learned, related to the music world but its meaning had bled over into a more general context. It means, as I understand it, creating something that's personal and special, yet that is easy, low-cost, and made with casual abandon...isn't that great? The opposite of forced, overdone, pretentious, or meeting others' expectations rather than your own...
Does that help?
Val
Posted by: valerie Easton | February 09, 2012 at 04:03 PM
Exactly!! It's kind of like when "chefs" take perfectly fresh, beautiful, food and try and turn it into an art form on a plate after first "infusing" it with all kinds of wierd ingredients. I look at some of those food arrangements the same way as a crazy, looking, flower arrangement and think....HUH??
Posted by: Chris | February 10, 2012 at 10:33 AM
Hi Valerie,
I am a native of Whidbey Island and had the pleasure of growing up with a year around gardening mom. I now live in Seattle but keep a strong connection to Whidbey and follow some of the other Whidbey "Prodcuts" that have gone on to do really cool and interesting stuff.
I have read a few of your articles and find them really interesting, and thought you might like to hear about a former Whidbey resident that is doing some cool stuff in and around Seattle.
Jessica Roundy is a Landscape Architect with an art history background. She has done some pretty amazing garden installations and has some cool ideas for urban dwellers who might lack the property to have a larger garden.
Here is her website, I think it is pretty interesting stuff.
http://jsrdesignscape.wordpress.com/
Keep up the great work, I like reading your articles and love hearing about all the innovative and interesting people.
Posted by: Noah Roehl | February 15, 2012 at 09:32 AM