Monday, February 27, 2017

Taste of Spring; from Seattle in a Vase on a Monday

The theme for this year's Northwest Flower and Garden Show was "Taste of Spring," which I thought translated particularly well to the floral competition. I always enjoy the floral display, but the 2017 entries were especially inspired — imagine the produce and floral departments at your local market, artfully combined. Since we spent several days in Seattle, I didn't have time to put together my own Monday vase, so I'm sharing my favorites from the show. Hope you enjoy!

This bright arrangement by Clary Sage Studio was titled "Begin Afresh" — I am all for any plant/floral creation that combines pink and orange in a way that doesn't hurt my eyes.

The birch bark vase added just the right (lack of) color and lots of texture, and tied in nicely into a poem included in the vignette, The Trees by Philip Larkin. I didn't get a shot of the poem, but if your curious it's shown in the artists Instagram feed, link above.

Oh and there were "kumquat eggs" too...clever eh?

━✽━
 
This one, "A Floral Feast" by Fena Flowers, was very busy. I stood there a good long while to soak it all in.

Days later and I still can't decide if I like the onion and carrot element, although it was eye-catching.

I loved the peppers and lilies right away (along with the rosemary and lettuce!).

The hanging radish bunch was wonderful, but impossible to photograph.

Odd, terribly odd, and kind of like a radish boutonniere. Oh so fun!

This section was my favorite, the colors of the ranunculus and anemone...

Combined with the eggplant...

And the cut cabbage "flowers"...so creative!

━✽━
 
"Absolutely Delicious!" by First & Bloom.

More pink and orange with leafy greens, combined well.

Whenever I see things planted in eggshells I want to smash them. However the general reaction I heard from the crowd was one of delight.

Bed springs were everywhere at this show: in one of the large display gardens, in the "vintage market" and here, in this floral display.

Their use here as glass vase holders was one of the best, I thought.

━✽━
 
"Edible Meets Floral: A Spring Woodland Harvest" by RHR Horticulture. WOW! Pretty fabulous right? In the interest of full disclosure I must confess I am friends with the creator of this luscious display, the talented Riz Reyes. We've seen his work at the show before, when he did a full display garden (here) and then in the City Living displays.

Again there is so much to see here, starting with artichokes as vases...

With kale, asparagus, and Romanesco broccoli accents.

The various shades of purple, blue and chartreuse, combined with white, was so crisp and fresh.

The attention to detail, and the sheer quantity of different elements, was amazing...and they all work together perfectly. Notice the turkey-tail mushrooms on the log...

*swoon!*

And on the opposite side (acting as bookends) another artichoke vase, this one with a tulip curled around the bottom just so.

Bravo Riz!

━✽━
 
"Mother Nature's Opulent Offerings" by The Art of Forest Blooms was particularly hard to photograph.

But again, the attention to detail, and layers of material, were impressive.

I love the simple perfection of the fiddle head trio.

And of course the raspberry ranunculus and chartruese orchids.

And we must not overlook the mushrooms.

━✽━
 
Finally, "Succulent & Delicious" by Young Flowers...romantic, so very romantic.

My heart skipped a beat when I walked up to this one.

Protea, pussy willows, artichokes, lettuce, succulents, and (I think) bromeliad blooms...

More romanesco, roses...

And of course orchids...

And magnolias! Sigh...I wanted to take them all home with me...

Weather Diary, February 26: Hi 43, Low 35/ Precip .14

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

18 comments:

  1. I missed a good show! Like you, I'm pretty crazy about the very talented Riz Reyes. He not only does awesome work, but he's also a wonderful human. I'm really sorry I couldn't have been there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I so wish you could have been Sheila, it was great fun!

      Delete
  2. I'm impressed by the creativity and effort that went into all these arrangements, although I should admit that I found the busyness of each a little bothersome (and yes, I do realize the absurdity of that comment from someone who stuffs her own vases to the gills). I loved the stuffed artichokes and the mushrooms of 2 of the arrangements but my favorite overall was 'Succulent & Delicious' - you can't go wrong combining protea and pussywillow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I had to laugh at your outing yourself for flower cramming! I do agree there is a lot to look at in each one of these creations, but they're all (or mostly) so well balanced that it didn't seem like too much, to me.

      Delete
  3. I have mixed feelings about these. Positive: very beautiful, so creative, lots of great ideas. Negative: do we really need to start using food in floral displays? I should say that it's 80% positive and 20% negative. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I do think you need to keep in mind the "theme" of the show. It's not like the designers just decided "hey, how about I throw some food in with the flowers"... so there's that. Also I appreciate these displays reinforce the notion that fruit and vegetables are decorative in their own right, and don't have to be separated from the rest of the ornamental garden. (big picture)

      Delete
  4. Riz and Young Flowers were my faves. Who knew that vegetables could look so romantic? It was great seeing you at the show!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the container the Young Flowers display was in really showed their creation at its best, and it's always great to see you too!

      Delete
  5. I went crazy for your friend's display when Peter showed it. Really beautiful and so creative. I also like the succulents etc. in the footed urn. Very clever combos by all the designers.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Those cut cabbage flowers are very clever. I collect bits and pieces of broken, lichen- and moss-covered limbs from my Douglas firs all winter, thinking I might do something with them, but I have no talent for it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh those were wonderful ! I hope the SF show has some decent entrys this year, but I don't have much hope.One of these years I must get to that show, before it suffers the same fate as the SF show.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The year I attended the SF show it was evident the display gardens were of a higher caliber, but the rest of the show fell a little flat. Please do come up to Seattle some time!

      Delete
  8. I love the way you pointed out some of the color combinations among the flowers and fruits - especially the lily and pepper one. It must be the gardener, not the cook, in me that gets worried about the onions and carrots with their roots in thin air... I like the idea of combining the edibles with the florals though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you approve of the edibles and floral combos, it's so much fun!

      Delete
  9. Those last three are really awesome!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!