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The Northwest Flower & Garden Show takes a Bow

Articles: The Northwest Flower & Garden Show takes a Bow

Photo: Lorene Edwards Forkner

“The Silver Screen Takes Root…Gardens Go Hollywood” was the theme of the 25^th annual Northwest Flower & Garden show held February 20-24, 2013 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. And what a theatrical party it was!

Movie-themed gardens were sufficiently theatrical (although perhaps with a few more mannequins and taxidermy exhibits than I’m comfortable with) with strong storytelling, some instances of brilliant plantsmanship, boggling feats of staging, and plenty of practical tips and takeaways for the tens of thousands of winter-weary, garden-starved attendees to tuck away for the coming growing season.

Here’s a glimpse into the (movie) magic:

(Click thumbnail to start the slides, then toggle between shots with onscreen arrows or your keyboard.)

“A Hobbit’s New Zealand Garden” Created by: Washington Park Arboretum and the Arboretum Foundation Designed by: Bob Lilly, Phil Wood, Roger Williams, and Rhonda Bush

“A Hobbit’s New Zealand Garden” Created by: Washington Park Arboretum and the Arboretum Foundation Designed by: Bob Lilly, Phil Wood, Roger Williams, and Rhonda Bush This remarkable garden pays homage both to the imaginary world of Tolkien and the new eco-geographic feature soon-to-be-planted at the Arboretum. Pacific Horticulture judges, Valerie Easton, Ray Larsen, and Keith Geller awarded this garden the 2013 Pac Hort magazine award for best demonstrating the regional nature and plants of the Pacific Northwest… because nothing says PNW like New Zealand?!? It will be exciting to watch how these plants settle into their new digs.

“A Hobbit’s New Zealand Garden” Created by: Washington Park Arboretum and the Arboretum Foundation Designed by: Bob Lilly, Phil Wood, Roger Williams, and Rhonda Bush

“The Lost Gardener—A Journey From the Wild to the Cultivated” Created by: RHR Horticulture & Landwave Gardens Ambitious in scale and brilliant in its execution, this garden was a page from over-the-top plant-centric designs of past (almost distant past) flower shows. Rare plants, choice specimens, and a rich and diverse plant palette threaten to swallow visitors whole—a delicious demise for PNW plant geeks. Congratulations to Riz Reyes and his cast of supportive small specialty local growers. The garden received the Founder’s Cup for best in show.

“The Lost Gardener—A Journey From the Wild to the Cultivated” Created by: RHR Horticulture & Landwave Gardens Ambitious in scale and brilliant in its execution, this garden was a page from over-the-top plant-centric designs of past (almost distant past) flower shows. Rare plants, choice specimens, and a rich and diverse plant palette threaten to swallow visitors whole—a delicious demise for PNW plant geeks. Congratulations to Riz Reyes and his cast of supportive small specialty local growers. The garden received the Founder’s Cup for best in show.

“A Pacific Northwest Beach Garden” Created by: Plantswoman Design, Inc. and The Reijnen Company The artful use of boulders and driftwood evoke the shores of Puget Sound while generous drifts of drought-tolerant coastal plants create a hardy and resilient, low-maintenance landscape.

“A Pacific Northwest Beach Garden” Created by: Plantswoman Design, Inc. and The Reijnen Company The artful use of boulders and driftwood evoke the shores of Puget Sound while generous drifts of drought-tolerant coastal plants create a hardy and resilient, low-maintenance landscape.

“A Pacific Northwest Beach Garden” Created by: Plantswoman Design, Inc. and The Reijnen Company The artful use of boulders and driftwood evoke the shores of Puget Sound while generous drifts of drought-tolerant coastal plants create a hardy and resilient, low-maintenance landscape.

“A Pacific Northwest Beach Garden” Created by: Plantswoman Design, Inc. and The Reijnen Company The artful use of boulders and driftwood evoke the shores of Puget Sound while generous drifts of drought-tolerant coastal plants create a hardy and resilient, low-maintenance landscape.

“A Pacific Northwest Beach Garden” Created by: Plantswoman Design, Inc. and The Reijnen Company The artful use of boulders and driftwood evoke the shores of Puget Sound while generous drifts of drought-tolerant coastal plants create a hardy and resilient, low-maintenance landscape.

“A River Runs Through It” Created by: Evergreen Landscaping and Ponds Further theatrics: a convincingly naturalistic water feature was the star of this small slice of the woods. Plenty of “wildlife” but no Redford…

“A River Runs Through It” Created by: Evergreen Landscaping and Ponds Further theatrics: a convincingly naturalistic water feature was the star of this small slice of the woods. Plenty of “wildlife” but no Redford…

“Living Amongst the Stars” Created by: Washington State Nursery & Landscape Association and Sublime Garden Design, Heidi Skievaski & Kyrssie Maybay Sometimes the plants are the star of the show. This impressively large monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), blooming angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia), and flowering maple (Abutilon) rise up out of a dense matrix of other colorful and textural plantings.

Like all good movies, there were flights of fancy. Who tends a garden in a tree house at the top of a rickety ladder? Designer Gregory Smaus of Native Root Designs that who. He somehow got those pots staged on a platform at the top of these majestic salvaged timbers in “In a Garden Far Far Away—An Edible Forest Sanctuary”

“It’s All in the Movies” Created by: Washington Association of Landscape Professionals, Jefferson Landscaping, Looking Glass Design This garden was epic in scale and scope…

“It’s All in the Movies” Created by: Washington Association of Landscape Professionals, Jefferson Landscaping, Looking Glass Design This garden was epic in scale and scope… … and (for better or worse) even had a dead body!

I found plenty of practical takeaways with ideas for edges like these planted fragments of salvaged iron pipes in “Jardin Noir” created by Barbara Lycett Landscape Design.

…and hardscape detailing seen in the beach garden mentioned above.

Me? My lecture “Homegrown” launched my new book The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest. And I had a ball doing a cooking demo(!!) where I prepared four hearty dishes celebrating winter greens.

Other than that I pretty much just hung out with the locals.

For more information about all the display gardens, seminar speakers, and other highlights from this years show go to flowershow.com.

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Lorene Edwards Forkner

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