The Northwest Flower and Garden Show - So Many Vendors, So Little Time!

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. 

 

 



Flowers for My Blog Valentines!

Twelve Ikebana arrangements, to be exact,  from a show by Ikebana International Seattle Chapter (website here.) at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.  I am totally ignorant of the rules and art of Ikebana but I find the arrangements lovely. 

I hope you will be getting real flowers as well to celebrate the day!

 

Perhaps you've made special arrangements to celebrate those you love!

Whether your day brings romantic fireworks

or the joy of good friends and family,

I hope that you feel loved,

special

and content!

Thanks to all of you, my blog valentines, for checking in with me daily or maybe once in a while. 

You've made me feel not so alone in my plant addiction!  Here's a big hug for all of you!

Happy Valentine's Day All!

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!