While everyone who attends the NWFGS enjoys the show, some people are especially fond of the seminars, others favor the demonstration gardens, and some revel in the shopping bonanza to be found in the vendor area. Over three hundred purveyors of plants, garden products, and art were present this year. For a complete exhibitor list with links to websites, go here. What follows is a tiny taste of the many exceptional things to see in the marketplace this year.
Clever name, eh?
Bob from Blackwaters Metal, who I'd seen a few weeks ago at the Tacoma Home and Garden Show, had more great work and amazing prices. This green man and a few other pieces took a walk to the parking structure with me. There were no chandeliers at this show but fortunately B.M. is about a 30 minute drive from my house so I can pick one up later!
For the second year, Bark and Garden brought a lot of plants. They sure display evergreens nicely in this all mixed up fashon. For an impulse buyers, this is perfect; for those who only shop with a list, it might not be as easy to find a particular plant if they're not all grouped together.
Les mentioned the great leaves of Helleborus 'Penny's Pink a few weeks ago and here they were at the show. One of these needed to find a home in my garden because of that great foliage. Now that the flower has opened, I'm twice as glad that I got this plant!
Look at all of the metal letters/numbers/symbols! Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have picked a few choice words.
Hopefully Release the Flying Monkeys, the company who sells these, will return to the show next year.
Lost in a sea of orchids!
Keeping it Green Nursery had some special plants.
I thought of a couple of English Bloggers who are avid Galanthus collectors.
I'm sure I looked much like my header picture when seeing this for sale!
Tempted by Grevillea 'Ivanhoe' but it's not fully hardy here so it stayed.
Eremurus roots remind me of sea creatures - octopi, squid, star fish.
Equal parts visual delight and great shopping was the space created by DIG, a creative force to be reckoned with.
Crystalline glazed pottery is fascinating to me. So many gorgeous pieces!
Like me, crows like to bring home all kinds of treasures. The one in the center, made by Jack Willoughby of Anvil Island Designs, flew to a new perch in Tacoma!
There was a lot of beautiful glass at the show. We are, after all, in a hotbed of glass in the PNW!
Glass Gardens Northwest/Barbara Sanderson is a perennial favorite at the show!
Barbara's "Fiddlesticks" make me smile.
Katy Lareau's fused glass flowers and bugs are lots of fun!
These foot and a half long drops were gorgeous!
Fish in the Garden were a hit!
Winfield Designs flowers will find a place in my garden.
Just for Linda, recovering from surgery, I looked at the vintage market for early and mid century pottery.
Need a light fixture? How about this beauty from the 1970's? In the right setting this would be perfect!
Perhaps you'd like to relax in your own mini medieval library/guest house. Little Mansions will deliver this diminutive beauty to your property!
If you're tired of working to create the garden of your dreams, The Mural Works can make it for you once and for all. This mural was painted on light weight metal and waterproofed so it can withstand the elements outside. I'm thinking that my garage would look much nicer with this painted on it!
Not a vendor, rather a silent guardian of the Washington State Convention Center bids us farewell as we leave the show with our treasures. I assume that this is an ornament from a now demolished historic Seattle building. I looked for interpretive signage but found none.
Such a lovely happening! I would have loved to be there... Happy week, Peter!
ReplyDeleteIt happens every February so maybe some year you could plan a trip to Seattle!
DeleteOver three hundred retailers, wow! More than enough to satisfy ones garden retail therapy needs. So many shops so little time indeed!
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to see it all in a single day and I was fortunate to be able to go a couple of times!
DeleteThere are so many vendors in this post that I missed. I really wish that I had made the rounds of the show floor with you. The fused glass bugs are fun and the mural is really stunning.
ReplyDeleteI spent about 13 hours at the show and you only had an afternoon. It was great fun to wander aimlessly and discover new things each time around.
DeleteThank you Peter! It was fun to look at these treasures and talk to their owners! And, as always, I missed some booths...
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear that you also enjoyed the show!
DeleteSo how many trips did you make back to your car? And did you buy the podophyllum?
ReplyDeleteFortunately I found really great parking this time! (Arriving at 6:40 has its perks.) so the trips to the car were rather enjoyable. I don't remember how many there were as I had a drink at lunch. After debating about the podophyllum for a while, leaving it, coming back, etc. I got it. That's one expensive bag of dirt! Fortunately when I got it home and potted it up, the roots and crown of the plant look really great.
DeleteWhen I started reading this post, I thought how wonderful it would be to have a show like this within a commutable distance but, by the end of post, I was just as glad there isn't - I'd be a pauper! BTW, Release the Flying Monkeys may be the best name for a business I've ever heard!
ReplyDeleteLuckily for my wallet, this only happens once a year. Maybe you'd like to plan a trip up for next years show!
DeleteDitto what Kris said about Release the Flying Monkeys. Best company name ever.
DeleteWhat an embarrassment of riches! I'm afraid it would induce a daze of stunned confusion, but I do enjoy it second-hand. Your garden is becoming a collector's showcase of plants and art. A virtual tour should be in order soon.
ReplyDeleteI usually find the show overwhelming but this year, having a lot more time to take it all in, it didn't bother me. Oh silly Ricki, I don't really do anything with all of those plants and art. Well, I plant the plants, often in larger pots, and the art hangs around the house or ends up in the garage or glass studio. A virtual tour would impress you with my large collection of black plastic pots though.
DeleteI fell in loved with the Green Man when you first posted it's picture. So glad you took him home: its really a masterpiece. Another favorite of mine are the glass cattails: they almost look alive. Did you end up with a Podophyllum? Let us know how it acclimates in your garden. That and the rest of the purchases you made: I'd to see the permanent placements for the green man and the crows in your garden! I suppose I can wait till Spring for the update :-)
ReplyDeleteThe crow is going to live in the house as I love looking at it; he green man might need to stay inside as well. I gulped and bought the podophyllum. I'd seen this one growing before and have blogged about a variety of podophyllum before but hadn't seen this one on the market for quite a while so was happy to see it!
DeleteThanks for the glimpse of vintage pottery. My eye does always seek that stuff out.
ReplyDeleteI love antique shops and now whenever I see that stuff, I think of you!
DeleteI'm glad to see in the comments that you did get that podophyllum. One does not walk away from Podophyllum difforme, or it's hybrids. It simply isn't done!
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of, or seen, crystalline glazed pottery before. I love the pieces in the second picture with cream, green, and blue glazing. Gorgeous. I love that crow, too. I'd adopt one if it were carrying a blue bobble.
How relieved I am at not having made a giant horticultural faux pas! I've loved the many Chinese podophyllums (pdodphylla?) that I have but this one has been hiding for a while.
DeleteI betcha could paint the bobble.
Thank you Peter for another wonderful blog post about the show! You take such wonderful pictures and even though I was there all 5 days I missed so many vendors myself! Will I see you in PDX this weekend?
ReplyDeleteBarbara Sanderson
Glass Gardens NW
www.glassgardensnw.com
Thanks for being at the show Barbara! Your work is as wonderful as you are and always makes me happy when I see it! (Most recently at City Peoples Mercantile in Seattle) I'll be in PDX this weekend, my first trip to that show & look forward to seeing you!
DeleteI'm no fan of crows (the live ones) but I LOVE that one you got. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHe is a rather handsome devil.
DeleteThe glass artist who did the drops and squizzles you photographed is Northwest Glass Artist Merrilee Moore. Nice post about the show. If you are in PDX at the Yard, Garden, Patio show as Barbara mentioned, come say hello! I'll be in booth 1093 by the Wine Pavilion and Merrilee Moore will be next to me!
ReplyDeleteShannon Buckner
Artist-Blacksmith
www.bentproductions.com
Thanks for the information about the drops and squiggles, Shannon! I loved those drops and plan on buying some next year! Your work was also spectacular but none of my pictures did it justice. See you in PDX!
DeleteI just got back from the Philly show, where my brother spent an ungodly amount of money with the lady from Peonys Envy.
ReplyDelete