Here’s What’s Happening in September

Saturdays through September
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Share Your Harvest
Molbak’s for Hopelink
Are you swimming in squash? Overdosing on onions? Bubbling over with blueberries? Tons of tomatoes (we wish…)? Share your harvest with the Hopelink food banks by dropping it off at Molbak’s, every Saturday in September. Here’s what to donate: Veggies: beans, cabbage, carrots, chard, garlic, green beans, lettuce, peas, squash, sweet peppers, tomatoes and more. Fruits: blueberries, cherries, figs, grapes, kiwis, raspberries, plums (no apples or oranges please). Herbs: All kinds.
Molbak’s
13625 NE 175th St., Woodinville, WA 98072
Visit their website or call 425-483-5000.

 
Saturday, September 10
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Seattle Tilth’s Harvest Fair 2011
Celebrate Harvest Season! Participate in this fun, lively hands-on event with educational activities, workshops, demonstrations and activities for all ages. Eat tasty food and enjoy live music with friends and family. Stock up on farm fresh organic produce. Harvest season is a time to celebrate! Urban Livestock! You definitely don’t want to miss our urban livestock demonstration. Meet local chickens, friendly goats and honey bees and ask their owners what it takes to produce eggs, milk and honey. Free.
Seattle Tilth
Meridian Park – behind Good Shepherd Center
4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103
Visit their website or call 206-633-0451.

 

Wednesday, September 14
6:30 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Bingo begins
Tree Hugger Bingo & Chile Feed!
Join the irrepressible Ciscoe Morris, Cass Turnbull and the wacky folks at Plant Amnesty for their annual Tree Hugger Bingo & Chile Feed. Play for choice plants and horticultural prizes – no bingo experience required to eat chile and win! (Seriously – I played last year and won an awesome conifer.) Must be 18 years or older to participate. NEW LOCATION at Shilshole Bay Beach Club to accommodate all the passionate bingo players. Plenty of free parking.
$25 per person, or $125 to reserve a table of 6
Plant Amnesty
NEW LOCATION!
Shilshole Bay Beach Club
6413 Seaview Ave. NW, Seattle, WA 98107
Visit their website for more information or call 206-783-9813.

 

Thursday, September 15
7:00 pm
Lecture: “Parks, Plants & People”
Lynden B. Miller
Annual Elizabeth C. Miller Memorial Lecture
Lynden B. Miller is a public garden designer in New York City and director of The Conservatory Garden in Central Park, which she rescued and restored beginning in 1982. Her work includes gardens for The Central Park Zoo, Bryant Park, The New York Botanical Garden, Madison Square Park, Hudson River Park and Wagner Park in Battery Park City as well as many smaller projects in all five boroughs and beyond as well as several university campuses. For almost 30 years, Mrs. Miller has focused on her belief that public open spaces with good well-maintained plantings can change city life. She has taken an entirely new approach to public horticulture by creating rich plantings that provide four seasons of interest for New Yorkers. Her award-winning book, Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape is inspirational and instructive about all aspects of creating and supporting beautiful public space. Free.
The Pendleton & Elisabeth C. Miller Charitable Foundation and
the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden
Meany Hall for the Performing Arts
University of Washington
3901 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
To be placed on the reservation list email info@MillerGarden.org.
Visit their website for more information.

 

 Friday, September 16
12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Saturday, September 17
9:00 am -2:00 pm
2011 NHS Fall Plant Sale
The annual fall plant sale will once again present dozens of specialty growers and nurseries representing the best of the Puget Sound region – in a NEW LOCATION. Since fall can be one of the most opportune times to plant in the Pacific Northwest, this is a fantastic opportunity to find a wide assortment of choice plant material all in one spot, from some of the best wholesale and specialty nurseries in the region. Come on down and say Hi! I’ll be roving around the area with a big cart to help you with holding your purchases. Free and open to the public.
Northwest Horticultural Society
NEW LOCATION!
North Seattle Community College Cafeteria
9600 College Way N., Seattle, WA 98103
Visit their website or phone 206-780-8172 or email at nwhort@aol.com

 

Saturday, September 17
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Summer Sidewalk Sale
Seattle Design District Association
Benefitting Seattle Children’s PlayGarden
The Seattle Design District Association is hosting a Summer Sidewalk Sale, and a portion of the proceeds support the Seattle Children’s PlayGarden. You’ll find DEALS on furniture, collectables, accessories, exterior items, and more! Plus food, entertainment and fun projects for children. The Seattle Children’s PlayGarden will be giving a sneak preview of some of the activities in the incredible garden and play area they will be creating for the 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show – great fun for kids of all ages. Free.
Location: Corner of 6th & Orcas Street (Georgetown area), Seattle
Visit their website or Facebook page page for more information.

 
Monday, September 19
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
“Garden Delights – Pteridophytes”
Judith Jones
Join Judith Jones, one of the leading experts on Pteridophytes (otherwise known as ferns) as she shares some of her favorite ferns for sun and shade. Judith’s talk will focus on less commercially known ferns and how to use them in the garden and in containers. Ferns are perfect for shady Northwest gardens and nobody knows ferns like Judith!
Hardy Plant Society of WA
Center for Urban Horticulture
3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle
Visit their website for more information.

 

Friday, September 23
5:30 pm
“Alice in Gardenland”
2011 Gala Auction
The event of the season – cocktails, silent auction, dinner and live auction with famed auctioneer John Curley and his trusted sidekick, Jim Dever, from “Evening Magazine” fame. This event is created by gardeners for gardeners, so you know there will be loads of auction items you will covet for your own garden.
Bellevue Botanical Garden Society
Tickets: $110 per person
Harbor Club
777 108th Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Visit their website for more information, a list of the fabulous auction items and to purchase tickets.

 

Saturday, September 24
Sunday, September 25
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Chase Garden Fall Plant Sale
Sale of fall-blooming cyclamen, dwarf shrubs and groundcovers, perennials. Bare root native perennials – the perfect time to transplant and establish for spring. Special selections from several invited vendors. Free admission to the garden for self-guided tours.
Chase Garden
16015 264th St. E., Orting, WA 98360
Visit their website or call 360-893-6739.

 

Friday, September 30
Saturday, October 1
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Succulent Gardens Extravaganza 2011
This two-day event will celebrate succulents in all their diversity and fabulousness, and will feature a stellar array of guest speakers. And of course there will be food, music, hands-on activities and prizes, as well as meetups, tweetups and reunions of all kinds. Extravaganza 2011 Speakers: Brian Kemble, Curator of the Ruth Bancroft garden; Randy Baldwin, partner, general manager and horticulturist at San Marcos Growers; Debra Lee Baldwin, author of two best-selling books on succulent design; Jarrod Bauman, designer with Zeterre Landscape Architecture; Davis Dalbok, designer with Living Green; Jeffrey Gordon Smith, landscape architect; David Jessup, designer and hypertufa artist; and Robin Stockwell, your host and owner of Succulent Gardens Nursery. (If you love succulents, but can’t make it to California for this event, we’ll have some great seminars at the 2012 show on growing and using succulents!)
Succulent Gardens Nursery: The Growing Grounds
2133 Elkhorn Road, Castroville, CA (minutes off scenic Hwy 1 at Moss Landing)
Visit their website for more information.

 

PLAN AHEAD

Saturday, October 1
5:00 pm
New Starts 9th Annual Gala & Auction
Benefitting Seattle Youth Garden Works
Join Seattle Tilth in celebrating the successful return of Seattle Youth Garden Works! Seattle Youth Garden Works empowers homeless and underserved youth, ages 14-21, through garden-based education and employment. Youth gain gardening knowledge, business expertise and job readiness skills while earning wages. Through one-on-one mentorship we help youth stabilize their housing, secure future employment, and achieve and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Your support through the New Starts Green Gala & Auction will go directly toward helping these youth. Enjoy a delightful meal presented by Pyramid Catering with fresh, local, organic ingredients from Organically Grown. You will have the opportunity to choose from an impressive selection of exciting auction items including regional tours, a boat cruise, celebrity events, remodeling services, spa days, sushi classes, elegant restaurant packages and more. Evening includes silent auction, drinks & hors d’oeuvres, dinner, live auction & dessert dash. Festive attire.
Tickets: $75 (early registration until September 9); $80 regular registration until September 23.
Seattle Tilth
Mountaineers Club
7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115
Visit their website for more information or call 206-633-0451

 

Wednesday, October 12
11:30 am-1:00 pm
Seattle Children’s PlayGarden
Give & Grow Luncheon!
To ensure that as many supporters as possible can attend our most important fundraiser of the year, we have a new location for our Give & Grow Luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. We hope you will join us to learn how your support will enhance the lives of children with special needs in our community. Consider being a Table Captain and/or Sponsor of the luncheon! The luncheon is free; donations will be requested. The Seattle Children’s PlayGarden designed and built a wonderful children’s area at our 2011 garden show, thanks to the generous sponsorship by U.S. Bank.
Seattle Children’s PlayGarden
The Four Seasons Hotel
99 Union Street, Seattle, WA 98101
Visit their website for more information or call 206-227-5458 or email liz@childrensplaygarden.org.

These are just a few of the fun events happening in September as the so-called ‘summer’ in Seattle wanes and the leaves start to turn. It’s time for harvesting, planting and eeking out the last bits of sunshine before the inevitable leaf raking begins. And mark your calendars for February 8 – 12, 2012, because it’s only 161 days until the next Northwest Flower & Garden Show and it is shaping up to an event you won’t want to miss! ~ Janet

Design a Garden – Week 2 Voting Begins

 

Well it’s official! Your “Design a Garden” votes are in, and the music genre is Rock ‘n Roll and the winning era of music was 1960 – 1990. Now designer Lloyd Glasscock, of Looking Glass Design has selected eight popular musical artists for you to choose from in our next week of voting. This is music from artists that never fail to make the “Top 100″ lists of the greatest rock and roll songs of the era; music that has been hugely influential in the sounds of the 60′s and beyond. (And amazingly, many of these artists are still growing strong today!)  

 

Imagine you were designing this show garden – which artists would you choose for the musical theme? Vote for one pair, and next week you can vote on songs by those artists.

• The Beatles and Led Zepplin
• Rolling Stones and The Who
• Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Eagles
• Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton

 

VOTE ON GARDENSHOW.COM

To vote just go to our website and click on the link at the bottom. After you vote, you can enter our “All That Jazz” Grand Prize contest. The garden show will hold a random drawing from all the names/emails of those who voted and entered in our Design a Garden feature between now and December 22. Drawing will be held January 4, 2012. No purchase necessary, and you do not have to enter the contest to vote in the “Design a Garden.” Here’s what you can win:

• Two nights lodging at the beautiful Seattle Sheraton Hotel between February 7 – 12, 2012.
• Four tickets to the 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show, good for any day.
• $50 Cheesecake Factory gift certificate – located right across the street.
• $10 Tully’s gift certificate – located in the Convention Center.
• Two parking passes at the Washington State Convention Center (a $48 value).
• PLUS $250 CASH to spend at the show – shop over 350 high-quality garden-related exhibitors!

 

COMING SOON: PLANTS AND DESIGN DETAILS

After the song is chosen on September 8, we’ll turn to the fun design details. There are countless decisions that go into creating a show garden. The garden has to be not only beautiful and inspirational, it also has to be built in 72 hours! Decisions such as the plant groupings from Swansons Nursery, hardscapes for patio and retaining walls with stone from Marenakos Rock Center, and mulching materials from Sawdust Supply will all be voted on, along with beautiful containers, garden art and outdoor furniture, also from Swansons.

 

Get your votes in for your favorite artists between now and September 1.  After the winning artist or group is selected, you can vote on the song. – Janet

 

 

 

“All That Jazz” Grand Prize Drawing

The garden show announces our 2012 “All That Jazz” Grand Prize, with a new twist on how you can enter: the winner will be chosen from your votes in our new “Design a Garden” feature on gardenshow.com, a show garden designed based on your votes, which we launched August 18. (Week 1 voting has started, and closes at midnight on August 25.)

 

 ‘ALL THAT JAZZ’ – TICKETS, LODGING AND CASH PRIZE

Here’s what one lucky winner will get:

• Two nights lodging at the luxurious Sheraton Seattle Hotel (Traditional Room with single King or two Double beds) for stay between February 7 and February 12, 2012.
• $250 CASH good for a shopping spree at the 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show!
• Four tickets to the 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show, good for any day of the show.
• $50 Cheesecake Factory gift card (located across the street from the show).
• $10 Tully’s gift card (there’s one right outside the show entrance).
• Two days of free parking at the Washington State Convention Center ($48 value).

 

‘I CAN DO THAT’ – HOW TO ENTER

1. Go to our website and VOTE in our new “Design a Garden” where you help design a show garden.
2. After you vote, simply enter your name, email address and zip code, and that’s it – you’re entered in our drawing. (Canadian postal codes are now accepted!)
3. You can enter every time we have a new vote – plants, designs, containers, hardscapes, and more will all be voted on in the coming weeks, now through December 22.
4. Odds of winning with you don’t vote and enter – zero, zip nada!
5. You can still vote and design a show garden – you do not have to enter the Grand Prize contest.

 

 ‘I HOPE I GET IT’ – READ THE FINE PRINT

1. Only one vote per name and email address each voting week (up to 11 entries over duration of the contest).
2. Winner will be chosen by random selection of the email addresses of all those who voted and entered.
3. Only one winner will be named. Winner is responsible for responding to O’Loughlin Trade Shows with contact information in order to receive prize no later than January 15, 2012.
4. If winner is unable to accept prize and attend the show, the prize in not transferrable. Another winner will be chosen by random selection.
5. No cash value will be substituted for any part of the prize.
6. Transportation to the show by any method is not included.
7. All That Jazz prize drawing will be held on January 4, 2012. Winner will be notified by email as well as Facebook message.
8. Garden Show Tickets will be mailed to winner in advance of the show. Gift cards, parking passes and cash prize of $250 for garden show shopping spree must be picked up at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show Office (Room 401) during show hours: Wednesday, February 8 – Saturday, February 11, 9:00 am – 8:00 pm; Sunday, February 12 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
9. Lodging includes two nights at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel, including hotel taxes and fees, between February 7 – 12, 2012. Additional charges for mini-bar, phone, spa, parking and WiFi or other services not included.
10. Employees of O’Loughlin Trade Shows are not eligible to enter.
11. For more information contact janete@OTShows.com.

 

‘WHAT I DID FOR LOVE’ – OUR 2011 PRIZE WINNER

A very delighted Anita Lane Baker, of Port Angeles, Washington, was the winner of our 2011 Fairytale Prize. Anita came to the show and picked up her $250 cash from Jeff Swenson, NWFGS Show Manager.

 

Anita’s reaction at winning the Grand Prize was “disbelief.”  She told me “I don’t usually win things, so this was an exciting prize all the way around. We were coming off of a long dreary winter out here and SO looking forward to planting and playing in the dirt. I spent both days of the weekend at the show with my best friend checking out everything at least twice. I felt like a little kid at Christmas when I was buying stuff just for ME. I bought plants and bulbs and yard art and a hammock. Then we enjoyed our dinner out at the Cheesecake Factory. The whole weekend was so much fun and was such a treat because doing all of the things that we did PLUS staying at the Seattle Sheraton was completely out of the ordinary for us both. I’m looking forward to next year’s show (even if I don’t win tickets!). Thank you again for the wonderful prize!”

 

Who will be the winner of our 2012 “All That Jazz” Grand Prize? Who knows, but you can’t win if you don’t vote and enter – no purchase necessary. You can vote up to 11 times between now and December 22, so increase your odds and vote each time we have a new design category.

 

And the first person to tell me the name of the musical used for the song references in the headings of this blog wins two tickets to the 2012 show. (Update September 1 – congratulations to Pam Hamilton of Bend, Oregon for correctly guessing “A Chorus Line.” She’s the first winner of our ticket giveaways for 2012. Follow us on Facebook for more ticket giveaways. – Janet

Announcing “Design a Garden” on gardenshow.com

 

Have you ever wondered about the countless design decisions that must go into creating a world-class garden show display garden? From the garden creator’s initial kernel of an idea, to the final building of the garden in 72 nerve-wracking intense hours, it is 9 months of planning, designing, recruiting, building, buying, forcing, pleading, sweating and finally, when it’s all over, collapsing. Fun!

 

BE A SHOW GARDEN DESIGNER

Now YOU can design your own show garden, without any of the sweat and tears! The Northwest Flower & Garden Show announces “Design a Garden” on gardenshow.com  The show has teamed up with Swansons Nursery and designer Lloyd Glasscock for this fun new feature at the 2011 show.

 

Swansons Nursery is Seattle’s premier destination nursery (full disclosure – Alexa’s Garden Café is one of my favorite places to meet friends for breakfast or lunch). Swansons, located in the heart of Ballard, has been growing great gardeners since it was founded in 1924. They have an awesome assortment of edibles, perennials, houseplants, trees, shrubs and everything in between, loads of great seminars for the novice gardener, and can boast a one-of-a-kind attraction during December – their very own reindeer display. Swansons has deep roots with the Garden Show, having created five stunning show gardens in the earliest years. Now they’re returning to the show after an 11 year hiatus with the chance to be a part of a garden designed by show attendees.

 

Designer Lloyd Glasscock, CPH, is well-known to people as the former co-owner of Pacific Stone Company in Everett. Now he’s repurposing himself with a new venture as the designer and owner of Looking Glass Design. Looking Glass Design is a landscape design company with an emphasis on common sense solutions for the garden, creating outdoor living spaces through the use of plantings, containers and ‘hardscaping’ is the main focus (rather than building elaborate structures). Lloyd is excited to be working on designing a garden based on our website readers’ votes. He knows what it takes to build an award-winning show garden – he has worked with Tim Gray and the Pacific Stone Company’s team creating many gardens at past Northwest Flower & Garden Shows. For this garden he said “Wow, this will be a fun challenge!”

 

Over the next five months, you will be able to vote on many of the design details that go into creating a show garden. We’ll start with the garden’s theme, and since the show’s theme is “A Floral Symphony: Gardens Take Note,” our “Design a Garden” theme will be based on a song that you choose.

 

From now through September 8 go to the garden show website and vote on a series of categories to determine which song will be chosen: first the era of music and the genre, or style, of music. After the musical era and genre are selected, next week you can vote on the artist, and a week later, the winning artist’s song itself. Each vote will be based on the prior winning vote. Who knows? We could have a show garden based on a 60’s jazz song, or an 80’s rock/pop ballad, or a 1900’s classical piece. From Abba to Led Zepplin, and anywhere in between, our voters will pick the song that will be used for the “Design a Garden” theme. So to make sure one of your favorite songs is in the running, you need to VOTE, starting today! Just go to our voting page and select your choices.

 

“ALL THAT JAZZ” GRAND PRIZE

And to make this even more interesting, each time you vote, if you provide your email address and US zip code, you will be entered in our 2012“All That Jazz” Grand Prize drawing (one vote per IP address and email not required for voting, and we are unable to accept Canadian postal codes). The prize is two nights lodging at the beautiful downtown Seattle Sheraton hotel, four tickets to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, a $50 Cheesecake Factory gift certificate, a $10 Tully’s gift certificate, two parking passes at the Washington State Convention Center (value $48) and $250 CASH to spend at the show! That’s right - cash! Each time you help us design a show garden, you are entering to win a wonderful trip to the show along with a shopping spree for plants or tools or decor for your home and garden. (With over 350 exhibitors, all specially selected as the best in garden-related products, you won’t have any trouble spending your prize money.)

 

After the song is chosen on September 8, we’ll turn to the design details. Decisions such as the plant groupings from Swansons Nursery, hardscapes for patio and retaining walls with stone from Marenakos Rock Center, and mulching materials from Sawdust Supply will all be voted on, along with beautiful containers, garden art and outdoor furniture, also from Swansons.

 

In the end, all of the winning design elements will be integrated into the show garden design by Lloyd and Swansons Nursery, working with Cyle Eldred, our Garden Show Designer. They are all up for the challenge of designing a garden with you as their client! And then you can come see your creation February 8 – 12 at the 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show, as we present “A Floral Symphony: Gardens Take Note.” ~ Janet

 

Seattle Garden Blogger’s Fling – Day 3

It was set to be a true summer day here in Seattle. The temperature might break 80° F! Now our out-of-town guests were chuckling over the locals’ excitement of such an occurrence (and gratefully relieved to cool off) but it is such a rare event for us here in the Pacific Northleft, we can’t help but revel in the sunshine.

 

The buses headed off for West Seattle, a place that the Pemco commercials should include in their TV commercials, as it epitomizes being “a little different” (in a very good way). We stopped at  the West Seattle Farmer’s Market and our mission: lunch.

 

My Gang of Seven decided on a smorgasbord potluck – everyone would split up for about 20 minutes, and come back with something good to eat. So little time, so many good eats to choose from! I decided on a mixed bag of cherries, including my absolute favorites – Rainier cherries. Their season here is limited, so I eat them whenever I can.

 

After everyone reconvened with our edibles, we walked a block to a nearby park, and laid out our bounty on a low retaining wall – cheeses, breads, cherries, apricots, salmon, cookies and some raspberry wine. Wow! We did a good job covering the basic food groups. We had an excellent lunch, tidied up, and then it was time to head back to the bus.

 

Our first stop was at the garden of Fling organizer and shepherd, Lorene Edwards Forkner. It was described in our packet materials as a garden of “comfort, flavor and year-round color and texture“ or what Lorene herself calls “Urban Hillbilly Chic.” But that doesn’t begin to describe it. This is a garden that oozes character, creativity and charisma, a dab of chaos, and a healthy dose of tempting calories. There is something fun and edible to discover at every turn. Fellow local Flinger Alison Conliffe, aka “Bonnie Lassie”  called it “funkadelic.” Good choice of words!

 

Now I have to give Lorene a shameless plug, because her garden was truly reflective of all the work she has put into her forthcoming book, “Handmade Garden Projects – Step by Step Instructions for Creative Garden Features, Containers, Lighting & More,” to be released in November by Timber Press. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer – and who isn’t these days? – this will be the must-have book for you. And heads up, mark your calendar for February 8  – 12, 2012 in Seattle, since you’re also going to want to hear Lorene speak at the 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show, where she’ll be talking more about her fresh take on life outdoors.

 

From her little knot garden in a classic red wagon, to her backyard firepit, Lorene has created doable projects that can make your garden more livable within whatever space you have. I think my favorite piece was the terrarium in half of a sphere made from…um… I don’t know what it was made from.  I just know that I loved it! Where does Lorene get all these ideas?

 

And of course, the ‘silver bullet’ was there, the old tiny RV that Lorene used a few years ago in one of her show-stopping, award-winning gardens at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show. It’s found a wonderful home at the rear of her garden, outfitted inside with cheerful striped red and blue upholstered cushions, a map of the world serving as wallpaper, and cabinets to store favorite books and toys and treasures. Inside she had made a simple but charming arrangement of sweet peas (my absolute favorite!) in jelly jars, in a wire basket, giving fragrance to the entire space.

 

Because Lorene’s trademark is all about “crafting the good and delicious life,” her garden was filled with edibles at every turn – plump purple beans, herbs of all kinds, espalied apples, zucchini and tomatoes. In tubs, containers and in the ground, and growing up trellises made from all kinds of materials (an old ladder anyone?)

 

Next we meandered through West Seattle to the garden of Kate Farley, a designer with over 20 years of creating residential landscapes, who has also done show gardens in past Northwest Flower & Garden Shows. Like many designers, Kate had a lot of containerized plants staged about her garden. They looked comfortably nestled in, but could just as easily head over to a client garden.

 

Kate has been experimenting with her garden for over 30 years. As a large laurel hedge got even larger, she simply cut an opening through it – a wonderful way you create mystery around the garden. Somehow, walking through a large leafy portal instills a sense of magic and indeed, on the other side of the hedge is a lovely, shady intimate garden. One interesting element was a huge tree, long dead, whose branches had turned a pale, ghostly gray. The previous day I had seen a very similar tree, titled “Split,” at the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park. It was painted metallic silver, and stood out rather forlornly surrounded by low grasses. I think Kate’s ghost tree seemed more at home in her garden than the sculpture at the park.

 

Along one edge of the property line in the front Kate had crafted a low wall, made from a hodge-podge of different materials (leftovers from client gardens?) that were put together in a wonderful pleasing way. I suspect Kate was into this “reuse, recycle” thing way before it became fashionable.

 

But the real whammo effect was in the rear garden. I literally gasped as I walked along the side of the house and came upon the tsunami of color! Vivid purple and magenta were combined with orange and apricot in a floral display that was spectacular, using poppies, delphiniums, alstroemeria and phlox, with plenty of evergreen structure behind it. Two purple tutors anchored the color scheme and provided vertical interest.

 

There was a tree house up high in an old tree trunk, a water feature with “tree trunks” hand-crafted from cement, and an old garden shed that would look right at home in a Western movie. It was filled with baskets, buckets, old fruit boxes and other relics that seemed to be lifted from the Universal Studios prop room. An ancient wood stove provides warmth in the winter, a delicate lace tablecloth covers the window to let in suffused light, and open drawers in old cabinets held all manner of treasures. The interior of the shed was bathed in sunlight, as Kate wisely used old windows as skylights in the roof.

 

I couldn’t resist sneaking around the shed, and discovered on the back side, where there’s only about two feet between the shed and the neighbor’s chain link fence, Kate has sandwiched some tomatoes growing in 5-gallon pots, soaking up the heat reflected from the wall of the shed. We Seattleites will find any hot spot to try to grow tomatoes!

 

Finally we headed over to the South Seattle Community College Arboretum to visit their pride and joy, the Coenosium Rock Garden. The Arboretum was first built in 1978 at the request of the students in the Landscaping & Horticulture Department and serves as a living laboratory for them. Many of the gardens within the SSCC Arboretum have come from individual donations or bequests over the years. The Coenosium Rock Garden was designed by an SSCC student who was from Japan, and built by the landscape construction classes in the spring of 2000 and fall of 2001. It now represents one of the largest collections of dwarf conifers in the region, and current classes keep it maintained.

 

After wandering around the garden we all headed to pockets of shade to chat and visit before loading onto our buses, where we could grab icy cold bottles of water, thank goodness! – Janet

For more photos of Day 3 of the Seattle Garden Blogger’s Fling, go to our Facebook page.