Monday, March 2, 2015

2015 Yard, Garden & Patio Show: the display gardens

Coming on the heels of the Seattle show, with it’s theme “Romance Blossoms” the Portland show was a breath of fresh air, well until you choked on the bark dust (haha, you think I'm kidding but I'm not...there was a lot of bark). The moss covering the entry garden was a nice change from the mounds of bark mulch...

But seriously…the NWFG Show display gardens were an explosion of spring flowering bulbs. At the YGP Show there were a few bulbs, but lots of foliage. I like foliage. Since there were only seven gardens I’m going to show them all, with a little (opinionated) critique. The gardens here differ in that you actually walk into and through them. That’s ideal, but also makes it hard to get an overall image – thus I’ve included the aerial view drawing from the show website. Oh and yes, there was a theme! But at least it left a lot of room for interpretation: “Today's Trends”…

We’ll start with “Toe dippin'...Wine sippin...Timeless Pleasures” because that’s where I started.

Lots of hardscape, and you’d better get used to it. That seems to be the name of the game throughout the show.

It’s interesting to look at the drawing and see how the design morphed. The deck over the water is no longer a square but rather an “L” – this is a horrible photo but I wanted you to see how this part of the garden was built up. Obviously it had to be (no digging a pit in the convention center floor) but it adds to the design.

I loved this (so much!), clean modern lines. I’d lose the candles and instead add a couple of tall dramatic plants, and make sure there was a ledge around the edge of the water square on the right, just deep enough I’d have a place to sit in the water and cool off on a hot day.

I could put together an entire post just talking about the plant choices in the gardens throughout the show. They are questionable. Not realistic for the long term, done for the moment. Should the designers concern themselves with hardiness? For example that acacia (A. cognata 'Cousin Itt') is not hardy here, does that matter?

I did leave this garden with a new plant crush, Juniperus communis 'Berkshire'...

“Attractive steel blue foliage with silver stripes. Turns a bronzy-copper color in winter months. Slowly to 12 inches tall by 18 inches wide. Full sun to part shade. Zone 2b.” – Youngblood Nursery. Another conifer, what is happening to me?!!

The next garden “Why Go Inside” was a head-scratcher.

At first I wasn’t sure I was even in a new garden, the separating wall made it feel like we were still in “Toe Dippen…” but indeed this was a new garden, with a lot of wide open space…

Too much wide open space. In the drawing there are colorful squares in the ground labeled as games, not in the garden. There were s’mores fixin’s, and soda in front of the fireplace. In fact there were so many bottles of soda lined up on the hearth I wondered if Jones Soda was sponsoring this garden…

And here I thought I’d walked into the bar. Sit down, order a drink!

Nope, it’s a garden. “Your Own Northwest Paradise

I did like this space, although there should be more potted plants.

And I had to ask myself why there was a glazed container sitting in the water?

More head scratching plant choices. A couple of not hardy Begonia luxurians, Yucca ‘Bright Star’, pink flowery things, Pieris (?) and it’s all backed by conifers. Oh wait, and there’s that huge alocasia. What??? Why can’t a plants person be involved in these designs?

Next we have “Modern Simplicity” aka a HARDSCAPE garden…

I wonder if they’re dreaming of having more plants in their garden?

This “garden” included a fire pit and sitting area, a Jacuzzi with fireplace, outdoor grill and dining area, more sitting space around the other side of the fireplace, and a shower. All the trendy boxes were checked! I especially enjoyed the carpeted ramp with orange tape and “watch your step” sign (hastily printed perhaps after someone tripped 5 minutes after the show opened?). I realize having the public walked through your garden is a liability but design for it!

My co-show goer for the day dubbed this garden the “man-space”…

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Bocce ball

And caged fire. You can sort of make out the grill/sink/refrigerator in the background. I should have counted how many of these gardens had a kitchen. That’s a trend that just won’t die, evidently.

Eat, Play, Glove”…

So much going on here!

This woolly pocket installation was nice, in fact the word “lush” comes to mind, and these plants aren’t even grown in.

There should be more orange ranunculus in the world.

And short stubby stock tanks. I need to find out where they got these, love how solid they are for their small size.

Warning, this next photo is going to hurt your eyes. From the garden “A Place for Family and Friends”…it's too much!

The floating camellia were a nice touch, well except for the fact the water was dyed black and thus giving a sort of oil-spill look to their petals.


Oh ya, LOVE that wall. Great shape and color and it encircles the sitting area perfectly.

I’m trying not to comment on the need for a big ole velvet rope to keep people out. One of the guys manning the booth offered to move it when he saw me taking a photo, but I thought it added a certain, well, AMC Theatre touch, don't you agree?

I guess when you include a children’s pay space in the garden you shouldn’t be surprised when it gets used?

Okay just one more garden, the Urban Edible Garden from the Association of NW Landscape Designers. This wasn’t technically a display garden but it kind of felt like one.

Did I mention Yucca ‘Bright Star’ was one of the “it” plants of the show? I wish it didn’t get such a bad case of yuccacne (yucca acne) every winter.

Interesting shape, a square or rectangle is what's expected, right?

Finally, I love lights like these overhead and thought the way they had them strung was clever.

Luckily there was a tall guy investigating one and he let me take an up-close photo…

So those are the gardens. There was a lot to like, and a lot to wonder about. Tomorrow we’ll look at the plant vendors! Because it’s really all about the plants…(no treble)

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

32 comments:

  1. I think I agree with just about all your comments. I was hoping these gardens would be more plant-centric, but they were all so very outdoor-living-centric, they disappointed me. I don't know if you noticed that one where they had left all the enormous Monrovia tags hanging on the plants? It made it hard to appreciate the overall effect of any foliage contrasts. I didn't even see the orange wall, there were too many people in that garden and I decided to skip that one.

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    1. I did notice the Monrovia tags and as I was standing there wondering WHY? another attendee made a comment to me about them. It was fabulously sarcastic and I wish I could remember it.

      Indeed the message of these gardens seemed to be without a kitchen and hardscape you don't have a garden.

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  2. Do the display gardens generally have to use plants that are fine or hardy to be grown outdoors in the area, or there are no rules as such? Very landscaping heavy indeed and some nice plants. The glazed pot in the pond made me laugh! Random but I suppose why not...

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    1. No rules like that. I just worry that the less experienced gardener will think since it's shown it must be okay...then think it was their fault when it dies.

      There was another garden with a whole row of planters in the water. An odd trend in the making?

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  3. Oh dear. It's clear their intended audience isn't gardeners but homeowners who want places to entertain in their back yards.

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    1. Perhaps because those are the people who spend the money? (hire the designers, pay for the hardscape) I do think there is a place for both.

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  4. O.K. so if NWFGS was an art gallery, this was the experience art project. Loved being able to walk through the gardens and think that desgners had more space to work with than at the Seattle show. Like Alison, I agree with your comments and was thinking that this was the year of the outdoor kitchen. Nice gardens but I think last years offerings were more numerous and diverse. Enjoyed the show and only regret that we missed seeing you there!

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    1. There were definitely less gardens this year, I'm chalking it up to growing pains with the new owners. We'll make up for missing each other during Hortlandia, hopefully!

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  5. I have to go through your post a few more times. There's not one garden that makes me go wow, but many have elements I really like. Those could be used to create what I think would be a great garden. But it's all so subjective anyway. That curved red wall, for example, is killer.

    I can't help but feel that plants are never the focal point in these hardscape-centric designs. Too bad, because for me plants take center stage.

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    1. Glad to hear there are things you like! Are you considering going to the SF Show?

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  6. The hardscapers seem to have taken over all the garden shows. There's more money there perhaps, at least in the short-run. The garden shows on TV - the few that are left anyway - have largely gone the same route. I wish gardening could gain the momentum among the masses that it has in the UK. You're closer to that in the PNW - down here, I suppose I should be surprised to see display gardens that don't have plastic and silk plants in lieu of real ones.

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    1. Indeed, I'm sure it's a money thing. But there's room for well designed gardens (with plants!) next to all that hardscape...

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  7. You made me go and look at all the fabulous hardware offered by the Crosby Group. Seriously cool (and specialized) stuff there. http://www.thecrosbygroup.com/html/#/

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    1. I love that! I hadn't even made it there yet. Thanks for the link!

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  8. There are some good ideas here, but too few plants for my tastes too. What bothers me most about these is that there's almost nothing here that you can do yourself, unless you're mega into DIY.
    (And now I feel like I've been to the St. Louis Home and Garden show, because it is all about the pavers and grills and lighted water too.)

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    1. That's because you're not supposed to do it yourself, hire a designer! Seriously though, they are the ones creating the gardens. It would be fun for there to be a few gardens done by non-(looking to be hired)-designers.

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  9. I want those short , stubby stock tanks !

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    1. Me too, if you find out where they came from let me know okay?

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  10. Oh thank you for posting about the show..I didn't get there this year :( I really agree with your commentary..especially the lack of 'plant people' involved in landscape & garden design. OY!

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  11. No kidding, re: the hardscaping..last year at the SF garden show that seemed a bit toned down, but I have to think these outdoor kitchen dudes must get a ton of sales leads from these shows or the wouldn't keep coming back. Frankly , I think it's too damn cold at night outside in Norcal and the PNW in summer for that kind of stuff--guess that's why most of these installations feature jumbo fireplaces.I wonder how many people put these in and then rarely use them ?

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    1. You ask a great question, one I would love to know the answer to!

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    2. Trophy Gardens, right ?

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  12. Laughed out loud at "oil spill." Love the stocky stock tanks, the orange ranunculus, and LOVE those lights strung overhead. (And OMG, my pavers-n-concrete backyard is... trendy! Who knew?)

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    1. See, you're ahead of the curve, good job.

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  13. I think I've liked better the designs in previous years...thank you for the coverage!

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  14. Funny, I totally see concrete when I try to remember what I saw there. I love the big metal cone light fixture & the deck floating above the water.

    We sat around a fire pit at friends January open house--decent weather for then--and it was nice. But other than party setting, I probably wouldn't use much. I still like them though, especially that fabulous metal pit in jj's garden. So wish my budget matched my good taste..

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  15. I was feeling jaded as I cruised (quickly) through the display gardens, thinking "same old, same old..." Nice to see you put a little more positive spin on it.

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  16. The idea of having an outdoor refrigerator, shower, bar, fireplace, sofa, hot tub,TV and surround-sound system totally baffles and annoys me. I suppose if you've got a bazillion dollars and several acres, then why not? To me it's just such an incredible waste and it's why I don't bother going to these shows. However, I do like those stock tanks.

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  17. For the stock tanks, I bought one from a big Feed & Seed general store -- the kind that caters to horse/cattle owners and not to dog and cat owners. The tanks are very durable. I am using mine as a stand-alone water garden with a re-circ water spout. You can also order them freight from Hastings or TartarUSA. Tractor Supply stores also carry them. I do have pots sometimes standing in water in my garden -- usually if I want a pop of color in a barren spot. You can grow a surprising number of plants (calla lilies, taro, some hibiscus, etc.) in boggy soil and all those like to have the bottoms of their pots wet but not entirely submerged.

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  18. I like how you said "all the trendy boxes were checked. It was exactly how I felt - it was a paint by numbers-kind of thing. Frankly, I think it is a little annoying. I'd rather they take one thing - say a water feature - and make it absolutely incredibly cool, rather than trying to cover all the silly trends. And you nailed it on the plant selection too. There were some odd combos indeed.

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