Delighted

If you live in this area, you may have read that  the owners of Van Lierop Bulb Farm have retired.  Unfortunately, no one wanted to buy the farm and continue the bulb growing operation so Van Lierop, the last remnant of the numerous bulb farms that used to nearly fill the Puyallup/Sumner valley, will no longer be growing bulbs.  It wasn't that long ago that a drive in that area in the spring meant beautiful fields of blooming tulips, daffodils, etc. Oh well, progress and all . 

 

This weekend, I was in the area and decided to visit a couple of places in Sumner.  I drove by Van Lierop Garden Market, thinking  that they would be  closed.   To my delight, they are open.   The folks who own this business are related to the folks who own the farm but they aren't ready to retire yet so their business continues.  Hooray!

 

Behind this lovely door there lies a great florist/design shop.  It was delightful to see fresh flowers in vases placed among the displays.  It's so common to see silk flowers these days that I actually touched a couple flowers to see if they were real. 

At the rear of this lovely, kind of girley (scented stuff & cloches over moss covered bird nests - you know what I mean - beautiful and well done)  shop is a door that leads outside to a  different kind of  area.

These head planters on rebar stakes are made by a local artist.  Wouldn't these look cool planted up?

 Sorry about your tool box honey but I ran out of pots.

Doesn't everyone need a giant rusty metal nest in his/her garden?

I have some mannequins in the basement, I bet these would be fun to make out of concrete!

I'm not quite sure what I think about these beds.  Do they belong to the three bears? 

 

There are always some fun vintage funk to be found here.

I've tried to pull off the Shabby Chic look in my home and garden but it never works for me.  I end up with piles of crap that look out of place, self-conscious, and just plain bad.  The look is wonderful and my hat's off to you if you are successful with it!

These bird houses are a new addition this year. 

 

Whimsical!  Did you notice that blue sky?  So welcome was the sun!  Nursery parking lots were crowded with the cars of the plant hungry.

 

This is also the only outlet in the area where the work of  Boucant is on display and for sale. You may remember seeing some of his work in this garden.

 These stone people are some of my favs.of his work.

 There are plants here too!

 

 

There's always something happening in the greenhouses

Gorgeous Echiveria. It would have come home with me but it was in a large, beautifully done, mixed pot that did not want to make the trip.

O.K. plant geeks, is there a term for when a plant does this?  I've seen it happen to several different plants (Digitalis, tropaeolum speciosum, lilies to name a few.) Is it caused by a disease or pest?

 Fishtail pussy willows were all the rage at the flower and garden show. While these are interesting, I prefer the simplicity of the familliar form.  What do you think?

 

Talk about full service, you can even rent one of the greenhouses for events (or for much longer periods of time.) 

 

If you're ever in Sumner, do stop by Van Lierop Garden Market.  There's always something unusual to find, the folks there are extremely nice and the resident dogs are adorable and lots of fun!