It's that time again - the Northwest Flower and Garden Show is blossoming, for the 25th year (does that make me feel like an old-timer??? - I remember so well the big excitement over the first show) in the Washington State Convention Center February 20-24. According to show designer Cyle Eldred, 77% of last year's attendees said the display gardens were their favorite part of the show.
Not that we don't love cruising the booths for bulbs and books, art and plants, picking up a free Great Plants Picks Poster, stopping in to seminars (hope to see you - I'm speaking on Indispendable Plants at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday 2/21 in the Rainier Room)....but the big hook is always the display gardens.
The 25th anniversary theme is "The Silver Screen Takes Root: Gardens Go Hollywood," and the Association of Professional Landscape Designer's display "Audrey's Roman Holiday" (schematic, left) certainly fits the theme. "It has strong, appealing visuals; a formal yet comfortable space," is how Cyle describes the Mediterranean style, architecture-rich garden based on the 1952 movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.
Here's how Riz describes what he's creating; "The garden will transition from a wild and mysterious island jungle of assorted woody and herbaceous species......into a dry river bed of assorted alpine, bulbous species, succulents and grasses. The garden will display the richest, most diverse plant palette representing a number of small specialty growers in the Pacific Northwest who have generously loaned their finest plants for this exhibit." Hardscape, a cool fence, stone work, Skull Island and a rope bridge are involved...
Native Root Designs is presenting an Edible Forest Sanctuary garden that sounds fascinating and original. "In A Garden Far, Far Away" takes
off from the Star Wars saga, and features salvaged timbers supporting
and forming tree houses, decks and planting containers, with the plants
themselves creating systems that naturally support each other.
The Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association garden is designed by Sublime Garden Design and looks like it'll be that rarest of things at the F&G Show - a truly clean, contemporary design. "Living Amongst the Stars" is all about hardscapes, art in the garden, and check out the cool concrete chaises....
The scale is intimate, and the plants (including a majestic magnolia) have lime-colored foliage with flowers in tones from cream to orange.
Read more about all the show gardens here....I'll be blogging from the show floor Tuesday afternoon with updates. I'm judging gardens for Pacific Horticulture magazine that afternoon, and I'll send you a few reports to whet your appetite for gardens and spring, as well as help you navigate the show...
I di love those chairs. Are they stone or resin? I found a similar set last yaer but found that they were a bit flimsy so started looking for a stone set, but to no avail. Not long now and we will be out in the garden for summer.
Posted by: gabion stone | February 14, 2013 at 12:35 AM