In A Vase(?) on Monday; Northwest Flower and Garden Show Floral Competition.

Many garden bloggers participate in a delightful meme called "In A Vase on Monday"  sponsored by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  The idea is that one is supposed to pick flowers from his/her garden and arrange them in a container and photograph them each Monday.  I've seen many cool arrangements put together by my blogging friends and have often wanted to participate but I seldom cut flowers from my garden as I enjoy seeing them outside so much and I'm far too lazy to arrange and photograph them. Today I've decided to cheat and share Floral arrangements from the NWFGS Floral Display.  The rules have been broken but after all, I am the Outlaw Gardener, right?


"Sunset Love" by The Art of Forest Blooms.  Loved the sunset painting idea.  Were the branches supposed to be paint brushes?  Foreground outside of the frame...hmm.

This was a touch of genius and made the whole thing sing for me; the artist's palette on which the paint colors are the spectrum of flowers used in the "painting"

"Perfection in Imperfection Itself" by Tiare Floral Design.

"Show Your Love With Local Flowers"  by Slow Flowers. I liked this collection of interesting containers with simple arrangement that actually look like what gardeners might bring in from outside.

"When Heart is Open" by Safeway Floral.  Am I the only on who really wants to see an article of speech used between when and heart?
There were so many elements of this arrangement that I really admired but all of them together are a bit busy and my eye wasn't sure where to rest.  I guess that when a heart is open blood gushes everywhere.  This is an arrangement to experience, not just to view from one angle.

 Floating Mandarin oranges/Clementines/tangerines are cool but what is that wire thing?

I'm fond of rich saturated colors but it's like every crayon in the box was used  in creating this celebratory explosion (Myocardial rupture?)

Come to think of it, this kind of exotic saturated color might be just what sky bridge garden "Romancing the Kasbah" could have used.  In fact, this arrangement would have added some more exotic vibe to this space. 

"Evolve" by Juniper Flowers is a collection of some of interesting things but I wasn't sure what it was evolving from or to. 

Columbia City Boquet's "Love in Flight" 

Fun.

"Falling for You" by LaVassar Florists - Simple and elegant. 

 "Woodland Wedding Cake" by Lusher Life Design

 Complete with a piece of wedding cake.  One way to get more fiber in your diet!

"A Hard Man to Love"  by Flowers Hardcore.  I didn't get it but there are a lot of things that I don't understand.  If you have an interpretation, please share!

"Love Triangle" by Ikebana by Megumi. 

Window to Your Heart by Blue Lace Design - dripping with romance.  The exposed hardware fabric and chicken wire keep it from being too cutesy.

So there you have it, my first "In A Vase on Monday" post.  Perhaps in the summer when I have more time, I'll participate without cheating.  Until then, I'll enjoy everyone else's Monday offerings!

Northwest Flower and Garden Show Floral Competition

It's always fun to check out the floral competition at the show. I am always glad that I don't have to judge any part of the show.  Comparing apples to oranges (sometimes asparagus?) and coming up with prize winners must be a difficult task!

 

On Tuesday, arrangers were busy putting their arrangements together.   So many choices...

 

 

In any art form using materials that are already beautiful in themselves, there is often an inner struggle in the artist's mind.  How much of the natural beauty of the glass, flower, wood, metal, etc. is allowed to speak for itself  versus how far can one manipulate a material to make his/her statement.  In this first-prize-winning entry, "Circles of Life" by Fiore Dorato International, a delightful balance of mastery of technique and admiration of the natural beauty of flowers has been struck. 

This is the only entry for which I have no title or creator.  If you know, please tell me!

"Ikebana as Art"  Ikebana by Megumi

"Every Flower is a Masterpiece, Every Bouquet is a Museum."  by KAN Orchids/Flowers

 

"Jewels of Life"   by La Vassar Florists

"Mary, Mary"  by Metropolitan Market

"Vincent" by Dancing Bee Designs.   Frames were used a lot in this show because of the "Art in Bloom" theme. 

"Swoon" by Sandra O'Malley 

"Daringly Divergent Dali" by Countryside Floral and Garden won second place.

According to the rules of the Floral Competition, at least one hundred dollars of floral material must be used in each arrangement.  I love this as a piece of art but that had to be some pretty expensive cardboard!

"Floricasso" by Fena Flowers.

"Breaking through winter the Heart begins to Heal"  by Fleur de V

"Floralaura"  by Laura Straight

Debra Prinzing, author of the book "Slow Flowers," in which she recommends buying flowers only from American growers, put together this lovely residential-sized arrangement.  Check out the website here.

"Enrapture" by Cordia Botanical Art is a slice of garden on a table!

 

Third prize went to "Art Nouveau" by Christopher Flowers. 

Capitol Florist

 

I'll end with some details of the material used in "Swoon," plants I've swooned over myself.

 

A grevillea which isn't hardy here.

A Leucadendron, also just a zone away from being hardy in my garden!

Kangaroo Paws among others.  Notice the Tillandsia!

Tillandsias, a succulent, and more Kangaroo Paws mingle with Ranunculus.

 

While I admire all of these, I don't cut flowers from my garden; they last so much longer outside and watching them die in the house is kind of sad.  However, I'm not averse to buying flowers every now and then.  What are your favorite flowers to have inside?

Let's All Go to the Lobby!

You may have read my tale of woe about parking in Seattle a few posts ago.  I must say that on my second visit, I was lucky enough to park in the actual convention center parking structure which was extremely simple to navigate, had numbered parking spaces, level letters and colors.  All I had to do was follow the orange concrete path and it led me directly to the lobby of the convention center. 
If you're not familliar with the little jingle, Let's All Go to the Lobby, here's a video of it for you.

 

 

The title of this year's show was "There's a Little Garden in All of Us."  However, the theme was Hollywood Movies.  I don't understand why the title didn't also state the theme but I probably missed out on some important facts because I didn't read the newsprint  program prior to entering.  Anyway, the lobby which eluded me on my first visit (I knew it existed as I've attended many events at this venue) contained lots of fun stuff.  First to greet the visitor was the Washington Flower Growers Association's Wizzard of Oz themed garden complete with a yellow flower road to the Emerald City. The Emerald City is one of Seattle's monikers.

Funny how dorothy looks so glamorous after traveling via spinning house all the way from Kansas.  Maybe she's miffed because there are no poppies to be found.

Can you see Toto in the basket of the bicycle?

Our old pal Scarecrow hanging out on a rustic twig bench.

The Cowardly Lion seems to be the first one to get close to the Space Needle which, although not mentioned in the book, is probably where the Wizzard hung out.  For a nice wide view of this whole Oz garden look here. 

 

This awesome table was made by Live Edge Woodworks

Near the table was a sign with the following words written by Kim Hoelting, the founder of Live Edge:

Imagine being alive for a thousand years.  Think of the storms, droughts, and brilliant sunny days.  Now imagine dying but remaining vertical for another two centuries, with life swirling around you.  Then one day you topple over but your body remains visible on the forest floor for many more centuries nourishing your offspring.  This is the story of cedar, our totem species.

Study these amazing specimens.  Where is the line between life and death?

Truly beautiful!

On the opposite side of the lobby were the floral arrangements.  Here is a small sampling of the many delightful offerings.   This one was a crowd pleaser! Unfortunately, I've forgotten it's name and creator.

"Red Carpet Ready" by Holly's Fine Flowers was interesting.

"Much Ado About Nothing"  by Pipper's Flowers

"Fontaine de Fleur" by La Vassar Florists

 

"Mae" by Capitol Florist

"My Fair Lady" by Christopher Flowers

"Star Struck!" by An Occasion Flowers made me think of all y'all from the Lone Star State.

 

For me, the flower arrangements aren't the main attraction of the show but It's always fun to see what these creative folks will think of next.

 

 

"Sunset: Strip" by Flora Laura was a tower of flower power!