Monday, February 23, 2015

The Display Gardens at the 2015 NWFG Show

I briefly considered posting a photo overview of each and every display garden at the 2015 Northwest Flower and Garden Show, but decided against it. There’s been plenty of detailed coverage of the display gardens. Instead I’ll share with you my personal highlights and yes, a few of my WWTT (what were they thinking) moments. The theme (cuz we’ve got to have one, evidently) for the show was “Romance Blossoms,” it was held over Valentine’s Day weekend. As you’d guess this theme translated to plenty of forced bulbs and flowers. Hearts and tables set for two. Blah blah blah blah. Not my cup of tea.

Above is a photo I pulled from the small space garden: "Penthouse Passion." While I'm not 100% on board with the execution I loved seeing the croton planted in an orange container. It's a better photo of the idea than the one below, of a garden called “Love the space you’re in.” I wanted to share a close up of the orange container at (almost) dead center. It was planted up with several things, including a couple of crotons. I have a love/hate relationship this plant, but here, in the orange container I loved it. I might just work a couple of those into my garden this summer.

The “Love the space you’re in" garden was also the inspiration for another favorite overheard quote. It was an older couple, maybe in their late 60’s, and at least she was very taken with this garden. She had stars in her eyes as she cooed “This is very pretty, isn’t it? See how it looks like it’s all just meant to be? This is what we need.” So you see the show gardens really do speak to their intended, even if they don't always speak to me, and that's a good thing.

This was the garden I liked best “Step by step, side by side”...

Why? Because it was different with a capitol D. I heard complaints about those gabion walls. How would you change the lights?

What about watering the sedum? It’s just not realistic! They’re right, it’s not, but what’s realistic about a garden inside a Convention Center? Have some fun, be a little odd!

I thought the chunky stone entry steps were a bit off, an element not in keeping with the rest of the garden.

And the metal pathway to the “bed” was a bit austere.

But I couldn’t help but think of Cornerstone while looking at this creation and that was enough for me to give it high marks.

I wanted to like this garden “The root of true romance” after all it was a bit experimental. But something just didn’t click for me.

Okay, before I share smaller design elements that caught my eye how about we look at a real WWTT garden (what were they thinking)? I just don’t understand this, I give you “Giovanni’s grotto”…

So many clashing elements/colors/plants…The palms and cannas Stromanthe sanguinea 'Triostar' (thanks for i.d. Mr. Subjective) under-planted with candy colored bulbs, the glass bits stuck in here and there.

It was just too much and didn't work for me.

Let's talk about some plants! There was an entire garden given over to orchids (Lettre D’Amorchid). I didn't care for the overall effect, but these Anguloa ruckeri were so bizarre that I had to stop and stare.

And since my Ludisia discolor is going to bloom I found this interesting.

I’ve been on a long standing mission to integrate more ever-black (dark leaved plants that don’t die back or lose their leaves over the winter) plants into my garden. Perhaps I was looking at it all wrong and I should be pulling in plants that turn dark when the weather cools? Rhododendron P.J.M. fits that description.

I was told Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Nana’ does too. It was wonderful to ask a question of the person staffing this garden “Rekindled Rendezvous” and find they actually knew about the plants!

One more that caught my eye, Ilex crenata 'Dwarf Pagoda' pretty darn cute…

Rust. Let’s talk about rust, there was a lot of it. Rusty stump…

Rusty trunk as gate…

Rusty cylinders with fancy cut-outs lit from within….

And my favorite rust, a retaining wall made from different sized/shaped containers.

Bored yet? We’re almost done. The final category I want to look at are a couple of interesting things that had me thinking “hey I could do that.” First from the garden “Birds do it…bees do it…” I loved these bug hotels.

I'm thinking about making a few and hanging them on the big blank back wall of our garage.

These planted pipes tipped on their side were in the “Romance of Steampunk” garden. My pipes would be metal but I like the idea.

Finally I’m not sure how I would integrate this into my garden but I really liked the different elements combined to form a wall in the “Rekindled Rendezvous” garden.

If you live in the Portland area a reminder: this coming weekend (Feb 27-Mar 1) is our version, the Yard, Garden & Patio Show. See you there!

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

38 comments:

  1. (The "Cannas?" in those couple photos were Stromanthe sanguinea 'Triostar.')

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  2. Not bored at all, quite enjoyed looking through them especially the rust garden.

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    1. The rust was actually from a few different gardens but wouldn't that be a great idea for a display garden? (built around rust)

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  3. Thanks for editing Loree -- many show gardens are more WWTH than WWWW (want, want, want, want!) for me too, and you focused on some nice elements. I especially like the rust, and would like to suggest that as next year's theme! :)

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    1. From single garden (above) to entire show! I like it. Seeing how the designers interpret a single word directive could be fun.

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  4. Ah, I wondered where those planted pipes on their side were. I saw them in someone else's blog, and didn't remember seeing them at the show. I love them too.

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    1. There was so much to see, easy to get things in a jumble or miss things!

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  5. Opinionated posts are the best.

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  6. I'm glad you posted this because it's a good reminder that I should stay away from my garden shows. There's so much insaneness, my blood pressure always shoots up.

    Things I'm totally on board with:

    gabion walls
    rusted metal containers
    dark leafed plants

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    1. You don't see anything fun about the insanity? What about the speakers? Are there good speakers in SF? Friday morning I spent 3 hours listening to Tony Avent, Nick Macer (www.panglobalplants.com) and Sean Hogan, it was great fun.

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    2. The speakers are great. I guess I should change my mindset and pretend I'm going to a lecture series instead. That makes it much more palatable, actually!

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  7. A word of caution regarding Rhododendron 'PJM'. They are a bit like mugo pines. There is a whole spectrum from small, compact plants to larger gangly ones. Make sure you read the label carefully to get the growth habit you want. Ilex crenata 'Dwarf Pagoda' is going straight to my wishlist! I do love the rock wall and plants in the last two pictures, and the rust!

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    1. I appreciate the warning, very much. It's probably not one I'll go out hunting for, but if I saw it I might grab it...and not pay a lot of attention to the label. Now I know better.

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  8. I loved so many elements of "Step by Step, Side by Side" but just couldn't get over the floating bed in the middle. It needed a bumper sticker that said "If this floating bed's a rockin', don't come knockin' The rusty pot retaining wall was amazing & I liked all of the rust you featured. Looking forward to the Portland show!

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    1. You should have brought one and worked it into one of the gabions! There were a lot of ways that garden could have been better, I just loved their non-traditionalness.

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  9. Well, I enjoyed your critique more than I would enjoy the show itself, I think. I'm not sure that Southern gardeners (or maybe just this Southern gardener) quite get these garden shows. Perhaps we're just not starved enough for spring to make us appreciate them as they're meant to be appreciated. But clearly there's more going on than just spring fever. It's a design fantasia of sorts? What do you think, Loree? What's it all about really?

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    1. Have you read any Cassandra Danz? (Mrs. Greenthumbs) She has a chapter on going to the NY Show with a friend. It's pretty hilarious: "In March of every year, my friend Bobbie and I meet each other at the New York Flower Show. By the end of winter, we are so garden-starved, we trek to the flower show like trail-dusty cowpokes heading for the saloon. We go religiously, like Moslems making their haji or the sick stumbling hopefully to Lourdes."

      It has to do with the tradition of kicking off a new gardening season. Here in the PNW we are luckier than those in Chicago or New York, we can be in our gardens year round, but of course not to the extent that you southerners can. Planting (and thus buying plants) stops in the winter. Hardscape installation (which let's face it is a big $ part of the display gardens) is pretty much on hold during the rainy season.

      The shows are like a big party where you can get together with your friends and neighbors and catch up, all while critiquing (or oohing and ahhing over) the display gardens.

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    2. Thanks for the explanation, Danger. So my first guess, that it's mostly about being starved for spring, was correct. I guess that's why you just don't hear about garden shows here in the South. We have one in Austin, actually, but it has a reputation as just a home improvement show. No garden design to speak of. I don't know anyone who goes to it.

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  10. I think we all tend to expect too much from the display gardens at these shows - at least I've been guilty of that in the past. I think we need to focus, as you have, on the elements that intrigue us and those that can be adapted to our own spaces. Sadly, unlike the Chelsea show, most of the garden shows here seem to be less about plants and more about selling hard goods.

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    1. Indeed, the plants are almost unimportant to those pushing their design services or hardscape installation.

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  11. First of all, fabulous orange pots! I want something like that in blues or greens. I love reading the posts about this show as it appears I may never get there....I love the bird/bug hotels. Dark leafed plants...such a challenge! But the Ilex crenata 'Dwarf Pagoda' is going on my plant lust list. Fun post DG!

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    1. Ah, I see you making the trek up someday! A little weekend away from the kids, party time with friends...

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  12. One does have to check a certain amount of horticultural rationality at the door to the convention center to enjoy the experience, but I'm OK with that.

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    1. Maybe that's why the booze is such a prevalent feature at these shows? (at least our PNW ones)

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  13. Hey!
    I've got one of those orange pots - I'm sitting here right now looking at it (in Australia).
    I don't know why I should be so surprised that they exist in other places in the world.
    see - http://freefallingskyward.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/around-home-this-week.html
    Love the Anguloa ruckeri and Ludisia discolor.
    And the bug hotels are fantastic.

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    1. Flip flops and a holiday wreath/tree in the same post. Oh what a different world you live in! True though, I've experienced that little jolt when you see something of yours where you aren't expecting it. Do you guys have garden shows in Australia?

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  14. During our whirlwind day there, we were discussing how it is that fashion shows always feature totally outrageous concepts that - by the time the ideas hit the streets and the general public - have been watered down to something actually wearable. Garden shows, on the other hand are almost totally WYSIWYG. We found ourselves wishing that shows like these would be a little more like fashion shows - as in step back and say "Wow - what the h...??? The one with the gabions layered with rock, lit bottles, moss and succulents was probably the most "out there" display of them all. Of course it hasn't a remote chance of working in practice - but hey, it pushed some boundaries and took some chances. I think we need more crazy ideas at garden shows instead of the same stuff over, and over, and over, again. Bring on the crazy!

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    1. Great comparison and slogan, "bring on the crazy"...I could get behind that.

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  15. Well, you picked a lot of interesting ideas there...I can´t wait to see the Portland version for more ideas!!

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    1. Me too, I wonder what I will discover...

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  16. One fellow I know called it the turf and tulips show, which cracked me up because I was wandering around thinking "Is there a lot of turf here this year? And so many bulbs! Almost exclusively bulbs in some gardens!!" I was in the same seminar as you with the three amigos--what fun that was. The whole thing is just a big annual party for those of us who enjoy gardening. I did fill out the post-show survey and emphasized the need for more plants and no mattresses.

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    1. "Turf and tulips"...that is perfect!!!! I filled out that survey too, emphasizing the same thing. Maybe enough of us spoke with a common voice that we'll actually be heard?

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  17. Giovanni's grotto.. arghhh my eyes!!

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  18. The root of true romance . . . all I see is a butthole. I'm sorry that's so crass, but that's all I can see! So maybe that's why you didn't like it?

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    1. Ha! Reminds me of the sculpture in Volunteer Park (Seattle):
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sun_%28sculpture%29

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