
So I’ll be honest…I wasn’t sure what to expect from “the fling.” First of all I am not a joiner. While I love to meet new people and certainly have a need for socializing, I can be a loner at heart. So here I was with 67-70 (not sure, the official number kept changing) other garden bloggers for 4 days! Had I just made a huge mistake?

No, I most definitely did not. What a group! I had the good luck of spending time with
Pam before-hand, which certainly helped. She and others from the tight Austin, Texas, garden blogging community were the ones behind the very first “fling” four years ago (Austin, Chicago, Buffalo, Seattle). The Austin group welcomed a newbie from Oregon with open arms.

And this was just the beginning, there were so many amazing people to meet, wait…actually women, because there was only one
(ONE) man who attended…the brave Jim of
Compost In My Shoe. Do you hear that
Scott and
Ryan? You two should have been there to represent gardening men everywhere and boost the Portland contingent (it was just Ann (the
Amateur Bot-ann-ist) and I along with the Timber Press people)!

Anyway enough talk let’s get on with the garden tour! Our first stop was in North Seattle at two private gardens next door to each other. Isn’t that a dream? To have a tour worthy garden right next door to yours? Lucky lucky people. I first wandered into the garden of Shelagh Tucker (all photos in this post are from her garden). Our hand-out said this garden was inspired by Beth Chatto’s gravel garden…and it was gorgeous!

Elegia capensis, I was told this was a hardy Restio…however after a little research I see it’s hardy only to zone 9…

Rosa glauca, Ann mentioned that they looked like olives. Of course that had me seeing this rose in an entirely different way…loving it.

But I just don’t think I can get over those flowers…too sweet and pink!

However this pink, on the bloom of the Pineapple guava, is a knock out!

This garden was to be the first of several brush-ups with this curly ribbon tree. I was in plant lust! Robinia pseudoacacia 'lace lady' is the name I found on a pot speciman in another garden, I'm not sure if this one is 'lace lady' or another variety.

Isn’t it amazing?

Like my garden (but on a much larger scale) the Tucker garden transitions from a sunny gravel garden in the front to a more lush green private hide-away in the back. In this picture I am looking backwards toward the front as I pass into the back garden.

A bit of note worthy trivia about this garden is that it contains bits of
Seattle’s Music Hall façade. I was living in Seattle during the fight to keep this magnificent bit of architecture from being demolished, and mourned along with many others when it was torn down. They sold bits of the building and a good friend gave me a decorative chunk as a holiday gift that year. I am sad to say my piece of this Seattle landmark was long ago lost (or given away) in my many moves but it was wonderful to spot pieces here and there in this garden and imagine where they may have been on the building.

Can you imagine gardening with a green house and a conservatory like these? Wow…heaven!

Tomorrow we'll walk next door to the Birrell Garden.