Seattle Fling: Two Private Gardens

The first day of the Seattle Fling began with hugs and smiles all around, as we greeted our fellow flingers at breakfast in the hotel and in the lobby. The feeling was that of a family reunion of sorts, which wasn't surprising, given how we've gotten to know each other through our individual blogs over the months and years. Many of us see one another at other garden events throughout the year as well.

 

We boarded the buses and headed for two private gardens located next door to each other. The first belonged to Jim and Suzette Birrell. The focal point of the back yard was the bright blue shed, with contrasting trim. Set atop a hill, it overlooks an extensive vegetable garden.

Artichokes!

Broken pot? Use it anyway!

One of my favorite exotic tropical vines - Gloriosa Lily (Gloriosa
superba 'Rothschildiana') - was wending its way up the downspout.

I found a new "must have" - the Wingthorn Rose (Rosa sericea)

The back of the home consists of mostly windows, which belong to the master bedroom, giving a beautiful view of the gardens upon waking in the morning.

Next door were the gardens of Shelagh Tucker. The front yard is different in style from the back, with the front being a drought tolerant, mostly rock garden along with some raised beds.

This made me think twice about pulling out the mullein
in my own garden.

The back of the property is tiered and makes use of stacked stone which serves to delineate cozy spaces and provides contrast to the lush perennials and trees and shrubs.

 

Tucked away to one side of the back yard is a water feature large enough in which to grow water plants.

A beautiful large conservatory provides a comfortable living space while viewing the gardens from three sides. I love the look that the shade cloths give, in addition to being functional.

Besides being envious of the Seattle weather, I'm also coveting the trees and the terrain and the access to beautiful waterfront. Coming from the pancake-flat, wide-open, landlocked space of Ohio farm country, it can be challenging to create the interest that such natural features help provide. But it's the "grass is always greener" thing, isn't it? (This summer, the grass really is greener in Seattle!)

We had our lunch at The Dunn Gardens, then toured the Center for Urban Horticulture, both of which I'll share in the next Seattle Fling blog post.

Our First Day in Seattle

Mountains as seen from our plane. This is a
big deal for us.

Mom and I have been waiting all year for this. In 2009, we traveled to Chicago for the 2nd Annual Garden Bloggers Fling. Last year, it was in Buffalo, New York. This year, we were in the Pacific Northwest, in Seattle - a place in which I've never ever been, in spite of having numerous invitations from both a good high school friend and a geocaching friend.

The Seattle Fling was held over four days, after which Mom and I spent a day with Jennifer (my friend from high school), then nearly a week on Whidbey Island at the home of my geocaching friend. We took the ferry over to Canada, to tour Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island as well. Just Too. Much. Fun.

Clouds and Clunkers - 2006 sculpture by Peter Shelton at SEATAC airport.
I think they look like Jarvik artificial hearts.

Look at the size of that Butterfly Bush in the
corner! It's nearly 10 feet tall!

We arrived in Seattle a day before the Fling was officially to begin. As we rode the shuttle from the airport to our hotel, most noticeable were the many conifers and a large shrub that we didn't recognize all along the roadways. Mom and I discussed what it could be, and finally settled on butterfly bush (Buddleia sp.). But that couldn't be, could it? They don't grow that large, at least not in Ohio. But the driver confirmed it and we learned that they're even invasive in Washington, unlike Ohio, where we feel lucky if they live through the winter.

We arrived at our hotel, the Silver Cloud Inn near University Village, and saw several familiar faces in the lobby, including Carol of May Dream Gardens and Elizabeth Licata of Garden Rant. Alison, a new blogger friend who writes Bonney Lassie, had organized a trip to Molbak's Garden + Home for the afternoon, so several of us met there for lunch and for some pre-Fling plant buying.

L-R: Mom, Me, Catherine from A Gardener in Progress, Barbara from
bwisegardening, Alison from Bonney Lassie, Katie from The Garden of Words,
and Helen from Toronto Gardens .

Molbak's

Nurseries like this just don't exist where I live, and it seems that Seattle has some sort of plantplacewhereyoucandropalottabucks on nearly every corner.

This is not fair to the rest of the world.

But Seattle is in the great Pacific Northwest, otherwise known as the Gardening Mecca of the U.S. With zones varying from 6-8 and even some at 9, longer daylight hours in the summer (due to their latitude), and micro-climates here, there and everywhere, coupled with relatively cool nights, plants like to live there and so do people. At the end of the first day, I was ready to move. Coming from the pizza oven that has been the Midwest this summer, the PNW was a most welcome relief.

Molbak's

Even though we had to fly home and our take-home goodies would be limited, we excel at packing a suitcase full of plants. Our trip to Dallas last fall for the Garden Writers' annual symposium tested our mettle and we passed with flying colors. So we began our shopping straight away.

Monkey Puzzle Tree
(Araucaria araucana)

Having seen a fabulous specimen of the Monkey Puzzle Tree on the way to Molbak's and first having learned about it on Yolanda Elizabet's Bliss blog (she dislikes them), I was excited to find a small version for sale. It was even growing in a flat plane (think: espalier) which would make it a cinch to pack between my jeans and t-shirts. Sold.

I also found a really nice 'Top Hat' blueberry plant. I'd gotten three small ones earlier in the summer from an online nursery which will not be named, but those quickly became history. (I think two of them were already history before they got to me.) I put that on my cart too, along with a pretty red square ceramic pot.

This trip to Molbak's created some inner stress because I knew we were going to be visiting several other fabulous nurseries before trip's end and goodness knows they would be full of all sorts of horticultural temptations, not to mention items of whimsy. Thoughts of UPS and Fed Ex began swirling in our heads.

Gorgeous orchids at Molbak's

We returned to the hotel and got settled in, and then walked to University Village shopping center, just a block or so away. More shopping! Only a small purchase at Crate and Barrel this time - some spoon straws, which will come in handy for eating/drinking fruit smoothies.
 

Just singin' in the rain at University Village Shopping Center fountain.

We got a preview of Ravenna Gardens, where we had a wine and cheese reception the next night. (Oh my. More shopping stress!)

Ravenna Gardens

These Brugmansias at Ravenna Gardens smelled heavenly as we walked by
them in the early evening.

Ravenna Gardens

Since we were still on Eastern time, we called it a night fairly early (by my night owl standards) so we could officially begin the Fling the next day, rested and ready!

My Summer Vacation

I've been out of pocket for the last two weeks, and some of you noticed, as evidenced by the e-mails I received, asking if everything was okay. It's more than okay and I'll explain. I get twitchy when I haven't posted to my blog for this long, but when you're on the move for nearly every hour of the day, it's difficult to switch gears and write about what it is you're doing. At least it's that way for me. I wouldn't make a very good television news reporter, would I?

Seattle Space Needle

Mom and I took a trip to the Pacific Northwest, leaving on July 21st and not returning until yesterday morning. We attended the 4th annual Garden Bloggers Fling which was held this year in Seattle, WA. No, the Fling didn't last that long, but when you've never been further west than Las Vegas, it's hard to imagine only spending a few days in the gardening mecca of the nation.

Seventy-some garden writers converged in the University Village area (University of Washington), using The Silver Cloud hotel as home base for some absolutely fabulous touring of both private and public gardens. Our celebration of our obsession lasted four glorious days.

Hugh Johnson has said, "No two gardens are the same.  No two days are the same in one garden." Both statements are true and over the next few weeks, as I bring photos and commentary of our days in Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond, as well as on Whidbey Island and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, you'll see how vastly different gardens can be, all the while being beautiful and inspiring. Even the same plant can appear remarkably different when it's grown in different climates.

Poppies

And after 11 days of being away from my own garden, it was a delightful surprise to tour yet another garden that didn't look the same as when I left it. Thanks to my long-suffering husband, who watered, watered, watered while I was gone, this morning I could walk through it and breathe a sigh of relief that so far, it's weathered the weather. July will go down in the history books as the hottest July on record here in Ohio, as well as one of the driest, with less than an inch of rain the entire month.

Phlox paniculata 'Blue Boy' in my garden

I'm missing Seattle already.

Mt. Rainier

Snoqualmie Falls

This past summer, Mom and I traveled to the Pacific Northwest to attend the Seattle Bloggers' Fling and to visit a good friend of Romie's and mine. Jim was such a gracious host, as we spent five more days after the Fling being chauffeured around one of the most beautiful parts of our country.

No visit to the Seattle area would be complete without a stop at Snoqualmie Falls, 25 miles east of Seattle. One of Washington State's most popular tourist attractions, the water plunges a dramatic 268 feet to the Snoqualmie River below. The word "Snoqualmie" is the English pronunciation of a Salish word meaning "moon."

It was a drizzly day when we drove to the falls, and that, coupled with the spray from the falls, gave them a sinister ambience. This may have contributed to the decision to use the lodge as the stand-in for the Great Northern Hotel in the popular TV series, Twin Peaks.

As you can imagine, a waterfall like that creates an immense amount of energy. There are two hydroelectric power plants at the falls. The world's first completely underground power plant, built in 1898, is embedded in the rock at the base of the falls. The second was built in 1910 and is located a little ways downstream. Together, the power plants generate enough energy to provide power to approximately 16,000 homes.

The Salish Lodge was built in 1919 and remodeled in 1988, with the fireplace being the only remaining part of the original structure. A beautiful gift shop stole a little bit of my time and I purchased some slate coasters with ferns imprinted on the surface.

Images from Snoqualmie Falls

Rose petals left behind from a wedding...

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Information about the falls and lodge was taken from Wikipedia.