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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Northwest Flower and Garden Show - More of Those Great Display Gardens.

Here are some images of gardens that I didn't get images of for my first post and gardens that I wanted to explore further. 

ART-itecture for Urban Wildlife was o.k. from the front but had some interesting touches that couldn't be seen until one walked into the garden to explore.

These steel planter boxes had tall backs and could be used on the ground to create a quick fence.


Delightful tapestry of mostly succulents.

Awakened Inspiration had a lot going on including this fountain surrounded by glass balls floating on the edges that were propelled by swirling water to gently bump into each other adding an interesting element of sound to the garden.
 The elegant travertine patio set in a French pattern is at the top level of this garden which has steps down into a sunken area. The paintings are done on tin and are meant to be used outside.


 
 Lesiurely Morning in Mexico City had some of the only palms in this years show.

Green roofs with cacti on them.

Another bowl of swirling water fulled with glass balls gently clanking against each other.


 I feel warmer just walking through this garden!
 
Here's a wider shot of "MOFA - Museum of foliar Art" created by West Seattle Nursery and Big Trees, Inc.  " Your garden as a museum? 
The concept is boldly executed here, with 'plants as art' - three living walls (each with a different style) presented as 'paintings,' a large topiary as a 'sculpture' and many smaller farmed 'works of art' consisting of plant material."



West Seattle Nursery is carrying the grids that you see partially exposed that allow you to create a green wall by simply buying the size grid you want and plopping in any number of pots to make a wall in minutes.  Interesting.

"The moss mobile owes its inspiration to alexander Calder, originator of this kinetic art form."


Homage to Vincent van Gogh's  "Starry Night"

"No Stress Allowed - A Sanctuary of Tranquility for Everyday Life"


"The Poetree:  Rhythm and Rhyme in the Garden"  

"This small, moonlit garden's centerpiece is a sculptural "poetree" hung with poems.  The poethy is the work of high school students involved in Hands for a Bridge, promoting dialogue and understanding through artistic esxpression.

"Peace in Motion - Sanctuary of Peace"  It's fun to take pictures of this one.


No time for plants?  Grow some blown glass balls.
 
More details from "The Art of Zen - Find Zen in Your Own Backyard." This one was as much fun to walk through as it was to see from a distance.





 
"Nature's Studio: Arouse|Evoke|Create|Grow|Chill"

Hobbitesque cupboard.

 "Monet Dreamed Here"

Clever plant labeling for the theme of the garden and the show.

Alison and I saw some of these cool Allium seed heads in Linda and Tom Reeder's Garden (her blog is here.)  They come from Gardener's Supply Company and can be ordered online.



"Darwin's Muse - Art Imitating Life" more pitcher plants.



"The Art of Retreat - Two Generations Define Their Own Garden Studios"
 "This mother-daughter design team brings their special perspectives to this 'dual generation' garden."



Forgot whose gate this was but isn't it purty?

"A Conduction of Vigorous Immersion: Seattle's Best Artists Enhance Your Flow"  These were the folks with the stairs that became a ramp and the part of the deck that rose up to become a table. Here we see fire and water together in this water feature.  Notice the rock wall behind.  The water flows in columns in front of the rock wall, splashes down creating a little fog that rises out of the slats in the deck under which the water is flowing before it exits from the round pipes.

That's about it from the demonstration gardens for this year.  Stay tuned for the Ikebana show, tons of fabulous vendors and to see what I dragged home from the show!
And whatever you do, make plans to attend the show next year!

33 comments:

  1. I am already looking forward to next year's show! Thanks for these great photos. You got some good shots of the Mexican garden, which I really appreciate.

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    1. My pictures of that garden from our first visit weren't very good so it was great to have a second chance!

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  2. Enjoyed the photos and your narrative with context. Plenty of good detail and achievable concepts there. I liked the glass balls in the water features. Trying to imagine the sound of it.

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    1. The narrative came from the garden designers themselves. The glass balls klunk together and make a sound similar to hitting bamboo together.

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  3. Awesome show, Peter! I liked the succulents. And I see the art of Zen is popular between garden designers. Also the fountains are are wonderful!

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    1. It was a fun show and I'm glad you enjoyed it too!

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  4. Fabulous pictures! So much to see in each one - what a visual feast! I was very impressed with the paintings on tin! What a great idea! If I were a painter, I would definitely do some of these for my garden. Love what it does to the area by making it look more like an inside room.

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    1. It was a gret show with so many good ideas! I have a friend who hung elaborately framed mirrors on her fence which reflected the garden and looked like pictues hanging on the wall.

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  5. So it looks like you were able to walk through quite a few gardens in the show? I was just telling friends how much I like that feature at the YGP Show here in Portland but that in Seattle you usually can only stare from a distance.

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    1. It was a mixed bag this year with some walk throughs and some stand and stares. Maybe designers worry about using too much of their limited space for walkways?

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  6. Wish we could purchase some of those fish! And love the pond on your last pic! Some inspiring displays there but on others they seemed to have crammed as much as they could, it's an exhibition after all and the need to display as much as possible must have been warranted.

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    1. The fellow who makes the fish is located in Maine and was selling them at the show as well. If you're interested, I'll find the website for you!

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    2. Fish in the Garden (Carpe Pisce) by Maine Artist Tyson M. Weiss. His webpage is http://www.fishinthegarden.net/ If you'd like to order them but find postage prohibitive, you are welcome to send them to me and I'll bring them to the fling this summer for you.

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  7. Many interesting things. I also like the last pond, and the fountain with pitcher plants.

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  8. I loved the gate too. It was made by Iron Idiom: www.ironidiom.com

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  9. This is wonderful. Thanks so much for showing me the show since I couldn't go this year.

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    1. It was my pleasure! Perhaps next year we'll see each other there!

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  10. Your coverage is especially appreciated since many Portlanders were snowbound and couldn't attend. I liked the use of evergreens in the Sanctuary of Tranquility and the wall of water in I can't remember where.

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    1. The Portland weather situation was sad and I hope that the two Portland bloggers I saw at the show got home safely!

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  11. I see that Anon already beat me to the info ... the gate was by Iron Idiom and was used in Susan Browne's 'Circles All Around Us' garden. Sorry I didn't have a chance to introduce myself to you on Press Day.

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    1. I'd remembered that the gate was in 'Circles All Around Us' but was too lazy to look at the handout to find the maker. Thanks for telling me! Hope we'll have a chance to meet on Press Day next year! Will you be coming to the Garden Bloggers' Fling in Portland this summer?

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  12. The amount of time and attention that goes into these very temporary displays always impresses me. Thanks for sharing your pics.

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    1. It is pretty amazing how quickly these have to go up and be torn down! Sometimes, I wish someone would come in, redesign my garden (keeping all the cool plants) and throw it all together in a week. Of course, that would take a lot of fun out of the process for me but still...

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  14. Peter, your pictures are clearly superior to mine in every way. You must have a better camera or special settings for indoor low light conditions, which I never have the patience to bother with.
    Aside from that, how is it that you avoid getting people in the shot?
    Do you mind if I save some of your pictures in my iPhoto album as souvenirs from this year's show?

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Chavliness! You are more than welcome to save my pictures in your iPhoto album as souvenirs. My camera is probably no different from yours. There was a press preview of the gardens on Tuesday with only a few (maybe 30) people in attendance. The bright working lights were left on in addition to the theatrical lighting so there was a lot more light for picture taking. So there you have it, I cheated!

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  15. Did I miss something where you said you were granted special access to the show, so that you could get pics without people in them? Thanks for sharing these, they are getting me psyched about attending the Philly show next weekend. It will be my first "real" flower and garden show in over a decade. I have been to shows titled this way, but they all tuned out to be home improvement shows.

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  17. Peter, love your post on the show. My pictures didn't turn out half (or even a 1/4) good as yours. That press preview really helps. Seeing your pictures, where one can really enjoy the displays, makes me feel more inspired by the show. After walking through it, Sally & I were wondering if we were getting jaded to these garden shows. We had the idea of going on Wednesday, not really thinking how many people would be at the Seahawks parade. Needless to say, we called it off and went Thursday instead.

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  18. wonderful, wonderful, I felt like i was there!!!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.