Expand Your Gardening Library – Part 1
One of the best places to test drive a new gardening book is at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, to be held February 20 – 24 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
That’s because each of these authors is giving one or more seminars – a great way for you to see if the subject, and their latest book, is a good fit for what you need.
And of course, you can have the added bonus of getting your book autographed after the seminars. This is a rare chance to see a lot of top talent in the gardening world.
We have so many new books making their debut appearance at the show, that it will take 2 blogs to cover them all! Here’s part one, featuring Amy Stewart, Barbara Damrosch, Mary Ann Newcomer, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Paul Zimmerman, Andrew Keys, Bill Thorness and Charlie Nardozzi. Simply click on their name above for a link to their full biography and more about their upcoming seminars.
There’s always a lot of entertainment and education packed into our Seminar Series. It’s the largest lineup of garden talent of any show in the world, and a great value too!
Get your tickets today, but don’t wait too long – Early Bird Tickets must be purchased before February 20. See you in the seminars! ~ Janet
Cinematic Classics Depicted in Film Noir Garden
Show attendees have been enthralled by past award-winning show gardens at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show designed by APLD members with Barbara Lycett on the team. She is an APLD certified designer, one of only six designers in the state to receive international certification with the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). She was a member of d4collective, a group of designers who created the “A Garden in Verse” at the 2011 show.
Barbara has also been part of the design team executing the 2009, 2010 and 2012 APLD gardens at the show. Now she’s taken the plunge and is designing and installing her own show garden, titled “Jardin Noir – Film Noir Style in a Modern Garden.”
Look for a moody garden with Barbara Lysett’s homage to classic film noir.
This will be a garden filled with edgy contrasts, an uneasy yet exhilarating ambience associated with the classic cinematic genre that originated in the early 40’s to late 50’s. Don’t look for soft curves or romantic plant combinations. Barbara is taking it melodramatic with contrast, oblique angles, skewed perspectives and vertical grids of lights.
Film buffs will recognize some of the classic film noir motifs, such as a formal fireplace, venetian blinds, a mirror and cast grids of light.
The plantings will be designed to highlight both the contrast of black and white cinematography and the mysterious aura of film noir. Blue-toned plants establish moodiness; occasional touches of red suggest possible violent plot twists – murder in the garden anyone? One can imagine this setting as the hideaway of an alluring femme fatale.
The garden will be filled with reused and repurposed materials. Barbara will be using charred wood boards, finished using the ancient Japanese technique “Shou Sugi Ban.” This method of burning cedar boards makes them resistant to fire and rot. The black, burnt wood is consistent with the dark moodiness of the garden.
Barbara Lycett was part of d4collective – the design team that created this 2011 show garden.
Other elements of the garden will be environmentally friendly or recycled. Salvaged wood, windows, and galvanized roofing materials will be employed. Recycled steel pipe will be used in retaining walls.
Barbara believes film noir embodies post-World War II pessimism and despair, cynicism and urban angst. So she’s incorporated some graffiti art into the walls of the garden, working with a local muralist and printmaker Zachary Bohnenkamp.
What can show attendees take home from such a dramatic and edgy garden? You will see how to use conventional materials in unconventional ways; how to take risks and go beyond the ordinary. Let your garden convey whatever you want; it’s your creative expression.
The Northwest Flower & Garden Show, to be held at the Washington State Convention Center, February 20 – 24, 2013, is an unparalleled gardening extravaganza. Tickets are now available on the show’s website, in retail ticket outlets or on our Facebook page. Join us, and experience everything gardening. ~ Janet
A Blooming Valentine
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and you might be struggling to come up with a memorable gift for that special person in your life.
Do you really want to give more stuff? Think how much more meaningful it would be to give an experience – one that you know she (or he!) will cherish.
Give the gift of everything gardening to your garden-loving sweetie this Valentine’s Day.
Give a gift that says this: “I know you love to garden; you’re obsessed with all things gardening! I support all those hours you spend fussing over the tiniest detail of the garden. I ignore the 10 cubic yards of smelly compost that sits in our driveway for 6 weeks every spring. I overlook the credit card charges to all those nurseries and plant sales. I don’t complain when you head out to yet another lecture from some gardening luminary. I love you so much, and who you are, and what your gardening means to you, that my gift this year is really going to show you that.”
Yea, that kind of gift.
Then here’s what you do. Go to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show website and buy a Two-Day Pass. That gives your beloved hortie plenty of time to see the show gardens, shop, shop, shop in our incredible Marketplace, and attend a half-dozen seminars by the leading garden writers and designers from around the U.S.
The next best thing to a trip to Paris is a trip to the garden show where you are surounded by blossoms and beauty.
Next go to the website page for our hotel deals. These are great packages, not available anywhere else, with some nice amenities thrown in. The hotels are all located near the Washington State Convention Center, so going back and forth to the show is a breeze.
Put it all in a beautiful Valentine’s card. See the absolute joy on her face when she realizes you are treating her (or him!) to a dream garden show in a luxurious way.
A romantic candlelit dinner is in order for Valentine’s Day and you can find it at the garden show.
Or to borrow from the classic commercials:
Two Pay Pass: $29
One night’s stay at a downtown hotel: $73 – $132
Your loved one’s smile when they see your gift: Priceless.
The garden show cannot be held responsible for all the good things that happen to you after this gift. You can thank us later.
So give your Valentine’s sweetie the chance to experience everything gardening. It will leave smiles on both your faces. ~ Janet
Enjoy Old-fashioned Movies in the Park
People of a certain age will no doubt remember the time when they could take their family to a park and enjoy some wholesome family entertainment with the latest movie release of the 50’s.
Now you can get a touch of nostalgia for those idyllic days with “Backyard Box Office,” a garden created by James Sprague, CPH, owner of Fancy Plants Gardens, Inc. in Bothell, for the 2013 Northwest Flower & Garden Show.
James loves to design gardens that hark back to a kinder, gentler age. Attendees at the 2012 show raved about his rendition of the classic “Peter and the Wolf” symphony. Many were heard whistling some of the symphony’s most memorable tunes.
Shrubs, bulbs and Primroses added bursts of color to the garden – a look anyone can achieve at home, even in February.
For his 1,000 sq. ft 2013 display garden, James will recreate a movie theater in a park which could be in anyone’s back yard. The movie “screen” will be created using glass art hanging from a pergola. Bedrock Industries will be providing the glass, and all will be made entirely from recycled glass.
Look for a patio for dining and relaxing, the classic red velvet rope, and a nearby lawn that serves as amphitheater seating. It’s all surrounded by lush gardens and a large metal ‘flower’ made from old, oversized movie reels.
Follow James on his Facebook page as he shares some of the elements that will be going into this garden.
Fancy Plants Gardens was inspired by the classic symphony, “Peter and the Wolf,” for their 2012 garden.
Imagine the entire family with friends and neighbors stretching out on the lush lawn enjoying popcorn and watching a movie on a late July evening.
And in keeping with the movie theater theme, James is incorporating popcorn box planters and buttered popcorn-themed plants, such as bright white hydrangeas, golden yellow bulbs, primroses and, of course, Popcorn Viburnum.
To see the gardens from past shows visit our website. Tickets are on sale now and you save $4 with our Early Bird tickets. There’s so much to see and do at the show, a 2-Day Pass is a great value. Make it a wonderful weekend adventure with a night in a downtown Seattle hotel. Book a hotel through our website and enjoy terrific rates and special amenities and discounts available exclusively for our show attendees. ~ Janet
Opening Night Party at the Garden Show
One of the highlights for local gardeners is the annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show Opening Night Party, to be held on Tuesday, February 19, from 5:00 pm – 9:40 pm, hosted by the Arboretum Foundation to benefit the Washington Park Arboretum. This is a must-attend party for the ‘horteratti.’
Guests can enjoy a festive evening with delicious food, fine wines, live music and a splendid silent auction filled with vacation getaways, collectable wines, fun experiences, plants and all things avid gardeners love.
This woodland garden, created by the Arboretum Foundation for the 2009 garden show, is filled with plants native to the Cascades.
But what is more exciting is the opportunity to see all of the 23 lavish show gardens before the show opens to the public the next morning. All the while helping to support the Washington Park Arboretum. Established in 1934, the arboretum is a 230-acre living museum of priceless woodlands, wetlands, gardens and walking trails nestled in the heart of bustling Seattle. It has been treasured by generations of nature lovers, gardeners, tourists and citizens of the Emerald City.
All of the show gardens this year are inspired by the history and tradition of the cinema, so the Arboretum Foundation movers and shakers are capturing that spirit with the party. You can walk down the red carpet, pose for paparazzi, and gossip with your favorite Northwest horticulture celebrities.
To celebrate the Seattle Japanese Garden’s 50th anniversary in 2011, the Arboretum Foundation team designed this award-winning Japanese garden.
You’ll also be the first to see the Foundation’s own display garden, which pays homage to the gorgeous gardens and scenery of New Zealand and the popular new film, “The Hobbit.” It will once again be designed by the award-winning team of Phil Wood, Bob Lilly and Roger Williams.
Patrons and Benefactors will be treated to a special appearance by Santa Barbara-based designer Billy Goodnick, author of the new book , Yards: Turn Any Outdoor Space Into the Garden of Your Dreams, to be published by St. Lynn’s Press and released just before the 2013 show. Billy will be roving the gardens, microphone in hand, and sharing his “Top Ten Design Tips for Sustainability and Outdoor Living.” Billy’s design eye, combined with his keen wit, promises to make this an entertaining way to discover new trends.
In 2010 the Arboretum Foundation designed this winter garden in homage to the renowned Witt Winter Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum.
Tickets are now on sale. You can purchase them online, by phone at 206-325-4510, or over the counter in the Arboretum Shop (open daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Don’t miss this wonderful evening, to be held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. Even better, book a hotel room for Tuesday evening and you’ll be right on hand when the show opens at 9 am the following morning. (Think of what a lovely Valentine’s gift this would make for your gardening sweetheart!) ~ Janet
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