Plant Talk

Museo Gallery garden art show - the final week

A reader asked to see some photos from Museo's garden art show, which runs through next Sunday, April 26. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the piece I couldn't resist buying, which is a framed bird tile by Whidbey artist Meredith MacLeod, which can be hung outdoors.

Here's a photo from Meredith's web page of one of her birds. The piece I bought is - you'll be surprised by this! - a green glass tile with orange frame.

A few of my other favorite pieces in the show are a curvaceous metal pergola by Tim Leonard of Heavy Metal Works, a huge bird's nest woven from garden clippings, and the very cool wire garden cages by Carl Ulmschneider.

Really and Truly Dead

I'm still discovering, and being surprised by, which plants didn't survive the December deep freeze. Still in the wait-and-see category is Viburnum tinus 'Spring Bouquet' - sure, part of the shrub is alive and blooming, but most is so brown and wilted I'm afraid I'm going to have to chop it down to a nubbins. And how about all those brown carexes and pheasant grasses (Anemanthele lessoniana)? I don't remember them looking quite so sorry most springs....but I'm hopeful I'll see signs of life any day now. I'm holding off on yanking them....and I've cut out a good part of my prostrate rosemary, but the remaining skeleton seems to be holding on to its leaves and even blooming anemically.  

But I can't ignore the sad fact that my little hedges of Spanish, or rabbit's ear lavender (Lavender stoechas) are truly dead and have to go. These bi-color, early-blooming lavenders with their appealing rabbit-eared blossoms are my favorites, and I'll replace them, one more time anyway....

On a happier note, if you're in Langley or up for a jaunt to Whidbey Island tomorrow morning, I'm giving a talk about how to be an artist in your own garden, and answering questions about gardening, at Museo Gallery on First Street at 11:30 a.m. Join us to see the gallery's garden art show, meander across the street to the charming Chocolate Flower Farm shop (The Garden Shed), visit a couple of the island's great nurseries (Bayview Farm and Garden and Cultus Bay) and join in the celebration to welcome the whales to Langley, which includes a parade down First Street.

Here's a photo of Bridget in the garden, looking a little sad herself about the dead little lavender hedges edging the raised beds behind her - by this afternoon they'll be history...

 

Promenade au Jardin

Kick off the gardening season by visiting Langley on Whidbey Island, where MUSEO Gallery is hosting a garden art show during the month of April.

Art looks its best outside, placed where sun, wind, snow and rain perpetually change its aspect, and plants ebb and flow around it through the seasons. But it can be difficult to find quality pieces that work as a permanent focal point for the garden.

MUSEO owner Sandra Jarvis has invited thirty talented artists to turn their attention to the garden. Paintings will feature landscapes and botanical themes; sculpture and functional pieces will fill the gallery, all in celebration of the amazing gardens of the Pacific Northwest and Whidbey Island. Be sure and check out the lovely tall wire cages by local artist Carl Ulmschneider, ideal as a scaffold for clematis or runner beans in summer, and a garden ornament with real presence during winter.

The show opens with an artists' reception on April 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. - come meet the artists, sip wine, enjoy snacks and meet Langley locals.....If you can't make the opening, I'll be giving a talk about how to be an artist in your own garden at MUSEO at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday April 18... the show runs through April 26.

MUSEO gallery is at 215 First Street in Langley, right next door to the Clyde Theatre. It's open 11-5 Thursday through Monday; 360-221-7737; museo@whidbey.com. Langley is at the south end of Whidbey Island, a 15 minute ferry ride and 10 minute drive from Mukilteo.

 "Foxtrot" by DeLoss Webber wil be one the sculptural pieces in MUSEO's April garden art show.

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.

The View from Portland

The Portland Yard, Garden and Patio show is less frenetic and more compact than Seattle's spring extravaganza. The lecture rooms are comfortable, the pace is slower, their Convention Center is full of light and air....and the display gardens are more interactive, with people walking through, touching, learning. The Hardy Plant Society had a great display of cut and labeled branches of every possible leaf and flower that's happening right now - what a great teaching tool, and people were soaking it all up and asking questions. You could smell the winter daphne an aisle away.

The Portland Chinese garden has such a fabulous urban location, it's walls perforated by windows so passersby can peek in and enjoy the plants and pebble mosaics.

I love Tanner Spring Parks in the very cool Pearl District, which gets better every time I visit. It's a wild, wetland park planted with natives, one of a string of three parks running through the condo-filled neighborhood. Here are a couple of views on a cool, cloudy Saturday morning:

There were encouraging signs of economic health in Portland. Like bustling independent coffee shops and cool little corner groceries with fresh produce and baked goods.

Portland, Whidbey Island and mulching Q&A

I'm off to Portland this weekend to speak at the Yard, Garden, and Patio show - Oregonian garden writer Kym Pokorny gives the show a glowing review on her blog.

If it warms up a bit (34 degrees here on lower Queen Anne this morning) and doesn't rain - both big if's for late February - I'll be posting photos of Portland's very urban Chinese garden, one of my favorite destinations. I also hope to spend time at   the Elk Rock Gardens of the Bishop's Close, an elegant old garden along the river. Maybe the witch hazels are still in bloom - you can see a pictorial tour here.

Whidbey Island hosts a fine day-long master gardener workshop in March. You not only get to go to beautiful Coupeville, but spend the day learning practical gardening skills from some of the best gardeners around. You'll be close enough to Ebey's Landing to go for a hike after the lectures are over - Ebey's Landing must be one of the most beautiful places on earth - where else can you see snowy mountain peaks, expanses of salt water, ancient forts and farmhouses, and all that beautiful farmland stretched out below you? Here's the details of the workshop:

The  Island County Master Gardeners'  Whidbey Gardening Workshop, Saturday, March 14 in Coupeville.  More than 50 gardening and nature-related classes offered by horticulture experts, veteran Master Gardeners and nursery professionals.  Between classes, shop local vendors for interesting plants and garden-related wares, and peruse a variety of educational exhibits. Keynote speaker John Christianson, owner of Christianson's Skagit Valley Nursery, will open the day's events with a discussion of "A Nurseryman's Garden: The Constancy of Change."

    Select the classes that interest you and register by March 10 at www.island.wsu.edu, or call 360-240-5527 to request a registration packet by mail. You have nothing to lose but the winter blahs!

And now a quick Q&A before I hit the road:

Question: What kind of mulch do you use on your garden? Mine is looking ratty and needs a thorough mulching. Should I use Cedar Grove compost? I could order a load delivered, but don't know what to ask for...thanks for any advice.
Candace

Answer: Cedar Grove is a fine choice, made locally. In late winter, when plants are starting their growth spurts and soil can be depleted by rain and the previous growing season, I always use a rich, dark brown feeding mulch. This makes the garden look tidy, shows off the fresh green emerging leaves of bulbs and perennials, and nourishes the plants. There's a big debate among people who know much more about this than I do as to whether chicken or steer manure is best for plants. I think applying one or the other is much better than nothing at all. This year I'm not getting a big load delivered, but buying bags of Whitney Farms, or another good organic brand, whenever I'm at a nursery, and spreading mulch in beds and planters over the coming month. This is my new incremental gardening approach, designed not to be too overwhelming or exhausting. Or anyway, that's the plan - good luck with your mulching, and the next few weeks is an optimum time to get it done.

 

Mermaids and the F&G Show

One of the great joys of the Northwest Flower and Garden Show is getting together with friends from out of town, which I celebrated last night by going out to dinner at Boom Noodle (my new favorite restaurant with fabulous food and reasonable prices) with, among others, Ketzel Levine, formerly of NPR and my dear friend Alice Doyle of Log House Plants.  Ketzel is visiting from Portland, Alice from Cottage Grove, near Eugene - stay tuned for posts about the very cool new flowers and vegetables from Log House this spring.

Over green tea, seared green beans and rice cakes, I told them about how I couldn't get the PETA protest scene on Tuesday afternoon, outside of the Convention Center, out of mind...how could painted people lying on the sidewalk stick in my mind more searingly than the gorgeous gardens inside? After I'd passed around my I Phone photos, they urged me to post them so you could also enjoy - if that's the right word - this most unusual scene.

When I arrived at the Convention Center to judge gardens, these protesters were lying on the sidewalk.  They weren't protesting the flower show, but an aquaculture conference going on simultaneously (hence the "schools" referred to in the poster). I know nothing about the merits of their protest, but as a near life-long vegetarian I was moved by this piece of guerrilla theatre, but mostly drawn by how beautiful and powerful the still and quiet tableau was there on the sidewalk. Take a look for yourselves - it didn't last long as the police were already on their way to stop it when I snapped my last photo.

Preview - '09 Flower and Garden Show

It's ironic that this year, when Duane Kelly has announced this is his last show, the display gardens are the best I can remember. Two of them alone are worth the ticket price and there are several others that are so intriguing that I'm going back to see them again, even after spending all yesterday afternoon judging gardens for Pacific Horticulture magazine's regional garden award.

I'd say it's the year of the vertical green living wall - you'll see them in several gardens. Oddly, when edible gardens are booming out in the real world, you'll search hard to find any vegetables or fruit in this show.  Unless you count the this garden's (eligible for the "Can you add one more thing?" award) lettuce-filled chest, the show seemed curiously lacking in edibles. Wouldn't you think this is the year to demonstrate how to beautifully integrate edibles and ornamentals? That's one of the show's few misses.

Several of the gardens were so impressive that fellow judges Keith Geller, Ray Larson and I deliberated a long time before choosing the garden called "Click" by Shapiro Ryan design for the Pac Hort award. My I-Phone photos don't do it justice - the design has Asian and formal elements, drifts of grasses and perennials, and slabs of glossy black stone as reflective as water. The design is elegant and sophisticated, yet richly warm in its use of stone, wood and water. All the  geometry, softened by layers of plantings, is given scale by a couple of large, beautifully pruned trees. These designers even considered (hypothetical) maintenance, for the plants are mostly hardy, planted in large, lovely swathes, and the shiny black stone gives an eye-catching effect of still water, without the work of caring for a pond. We loved the fresh twist this garden gave to the layers-of-green Northwest garden - instead of the expected/traditional layers of conifers, rhodies and ferns, the designers used ornamental grasses and cool perennials to form a richly textured tapestry of mouth-watering plants. I especially loved the extravagant drift of russet colored Anemanthele lessoniana. Here's the Pacific Horticulture magazine award-winning garden:

Probably the most excitingly original garden I've seen in 21 years of the show is the rooftop by New York designer Rebecca Cole with a stunner of a patchwork green wall, rusty planters, lots of sedum, and such an ingenious idea I've never  seen before. Cole used the idea of gabion walls (basket-like wire or mesh filled with stone), fashioning a table pedestal and benches out of wire filled with fire logs, which somehow managed to look warmly rustic yet urban sophisticated. Left is one of several green walls, composed of grasses, sedums, outlined in dark ajuga. The living-squares-of-green theme is repeated on the tabletop and floor of the garden to great effect. Other shots (below) show one of two seating areas, the log-fllled gabions, and the tabletop (more living squares), . But you really have to walk through this garden to get the sense of scale and clever use of space, materials and plants.

Below are a few other shots of the show for you to enjoy, including a witch hazel trained to a standard (great way to fit a sometimes-gangly witch hazel into a border), a pair of elephants that I loved, and a few of the many details that caught my fancy. Ending with a sentiment that sums up the theme of any such show - DREAM...