by Kristen | Feb 6, 2014 | Plantswoman Design
The garden show is officially open! Not that you’d know it… Today was a big day for Seattle as we welcomed home our beloved Seahawks. With 700,000 people packing the streets of downtown Seattle the show felt a little empty. The show opened at 9am and the parade was scheduled for 11am. From the moment we got onto the ferry we were surrounded by the 12th Man which made it hard to get around the city, find a parking spot or spot a cab. When we finally got to the Convention Center we were late and met with a problem with the garden’s rill. After some observation and a few system checks the fix was fairly simple, it just needed more water!
After a few hours of meeting and greeting show attendees Kristen and I went down to see if we could see some of the parade. We sat down there for quite sometime and made it until we saw the team busses, the Sea Gals and some other team members we got squished by some rather large folks and decided we were done. We escaped and went to the steakhouse on the same block and watched the rest of the parade on the bar’s TV over some delicious salads. The rest of the day went well. We met some fabulous folks and received great feedback on the garden. We will be back tomorrow and we anticipate to see a more “normal” attendance rate.
***We are working to get the plant list up and running on the site. Thank you for your patience as we complete that project.
by Kristen | Feb 5, 2014 | Plantswoman Design
We are so proud to present to you Plantswoman Design’s GOLD MEDAL winning garden, Terra Cadence: The Rhythm of the Earth! During our time at the gala we heard many great comments about the garden which added to our gold medal excitement. One guest came right up to the edge and stood so still taking it all in. When I looked at her expression she seemed to be in a peaceful place. I thought “YES! She gets it!” We are excited to share this garden with the show attendees starting tomorrow. We will keep posting to this blog daily through out the show so stay tuned as we share our favorite things at the show, explore the kid’s garden area, and what we do when the show doors close for the night.
by Kristen | Feb 4, 2014 | Plantswoman Design
Today is done and so is our garden. We walked off the show floor after 7pm and are so happy with the final result. A small crew will go back in the morning to finish the final “once over” and then we wait. Judging will start after 12pm and we will get to see the results starting at 5:30pm. Here is what our day looked like.
by Susan | Feb 3, 2014 | Plantswoman Design
Today was a long day. After leaving the Convention Center after 11pm last night we were back at it at 8am this morning. You may remember we mentioned a very big game yesterday so we had to keep focused and we worked right up to game time when we took a break to watch our Hawks dominate the Broncos. Whew, what a game! We headed out for the evening around 8:30pm and were met by a city ready to party. People flooded the streets and car horns were blaring in celebration. Traffic getting into the city was thick. We made it out with out incident and are ready for some rest before we finish things up tomorrow. Here is a quick peak at what we accomplished today and we look forward to posting many more photos tomorrow.
by Susan | Feb 2, 2014 | Plantswoman Design
Here’s the thing… It’s not like I’m not busy or anything but when an opportunity presents itself you just have to take it and list your house for sale. I know, I know, it could be better timing but there you have it. I’ve listed my house and have my eye on lovely piece of property in the next neighborhood over. So, once the garden show is over I hope to have more news to share with you. In the meantime, I thought the photos of realtor had taken of my home and garden were great and wanted to share with you. So, here is a little tour of the place I call home.
by Kristen | Feb 2, 2014 | Plantswoman Design
Well, today is finished and we’ve gotten a good start. Our timeline is a bit short this year because we will be taking some time off tomorrow for the big game so we are trying to fit as much in as we can each day. Early today the show floor was strangely calm and quiet (as quiet as it could be with heavy machinery moving about) which is kind of odd. As the day progressed you could feel the pace quicken. After reading through the garden descriptions on the website it was interesting to see the garden foundations being laid today. Click through the photos below to read more about our day. Until tomorrow, GO HAWKS!
by Susan | Jan 29, 2014 | plants, Plantswoman Design
I have an obsession with plants. Just like a wino on a street corner with a brown paper wrapper around his obsession I wait at the mail box for mine. Dreaming of the fabulous plants, wondering if I could try something new, and finally clicking ‘ORDER”… I am always tempted by mail order catalogs that come in the mail and online and have ordered so many plants over the years just from descriptions in catalogs. Dan Hinkley’s Heronswood Catalog is fun to read just for the entertainment factor. I heard him speak this year about how hard it was to come up with those individualized descriptions.
Grows to 108 inches tall Dahlia Imperialis
Now there are several I look at each year. Since I live on the Pacific Coast so many things can grow here. One of my favorite catalogs is the Plant Delights catalog. Even wrapped in brown paper from North Carolina they get here in great shape. I get a quarterly newsletter with an update plus the annual catalog. Tony Advent grows some amazing things there. I love to get the unusual things that are hardy in my area and also things like colocasia’s and gingers that are not. Every plant I have received from him, although small, has thrived. I’ve tried the huge Dahlia imperialis which is a Giant Tree Dahlia. The catalog promised that it would grow large in my area (it did) but would not bloom (it didn’t) because of lack of heat. The foliage was amazing and well worth the cost. He has 6 different liropes with only one available in my area nursery. This is just a small sampling of plant delights at Plant Delights Catalog.
Silver Vine Actinidia Polygama
Forest Farm in Oregon has been selling mail order for many years. They are a small group of dedicated gardeners that grow usual and unusual plants. Many trees and shrubs along with perennials. The first time I got a small ‘tube’ with a tree inside I was petrified. I planted it and put stakes and twine around it so it wouldn’t get trampled. It did grow and was happy, putting on substantial height and branches in just a year. I’m not so afraid of these ‘tree tubes’ now and will often order for my customers things that I can’t find in the nursery’s here. For example, the Silver Vine (Actinidia Polygama) is a great vine that should be more readily available. Forest Farm had it so I ordered it for my client. I sometimes put smaller baby plants into a pot so I can grow them on a little before I place them for a client. They also have a great selection of unusual fruit trees.
Oregon is only about 3 hours from my home. Just across the border is another wonderful nursery Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island next to the Columbia River. They sell both retail and mail order. I am addicted to browsing that nursery because there are some larger specimens there that can fit in the back of my truck. This is about the time each year I go down and visit. They also have a lot of plants available to send mail order. They specialize in Agaves, hardy tropicals, and drought tolerant plants. Many cactus varieties too. Manzanitas that are hardy and hardy Begonias too. I planted two of my favorite things (see blog post ‘These are a few of my favorite things) from here. The Camellia sinensis ‘blushing Maiden’, and the magnolia laevifoila (Michelia yunnanensis).
Arisaema franchetianum
A regular contributor to Fine Gardening Magazine Kelly Dodson also grows near by. His nursery Far Reaches Farm is an amazing place to visit. He is also an great gardener with practical knowledge about how to grow what he sells. He grows hardy (and non hardy) tropicals, including orchids. Amazing ferns, Arisaemas, and Mediterranean plants grow in greenhouses while hardy primroses, berberis varieties, and shrubs grow outside on the ground. Many of his offerings are available mail order. He has fans all over our area and beyond of the brown paper variety.
Arisaema candidissimum
Even closer to me is a new venture opening up soon. Dragonfly Farms Nursery has been open in Hansville for several years but this year they are doing something a little different. If you know the owner, Heidi Kaster, you are not surprised by that. She is starting up a mail order business in conjunction with her retail outlet. Heidi has always done a fabulous job growing seeds from all over the world. She will be getting back to that and selling what she grows. She is also teaming up with a couple of other savvy plant growers. Dave Dewire who owns Wabi Sabi Bonsai will be grafting and selling rare conifers. These plants will be grafted as pre-bonsai and sent on to plant people all over the world. He is amazing in his pruning and grafting abilities. Not to be left out of the loop is Dan Hinkley. I think he really can’t stand being ‘retired’. He will be also bringing plants to the nursery and selling them on line. We may be able to find some of the cool and unusual things he brings back from his most recent plant travels. The new website should be up and functioning by April You can check out Dragonfly Farms Nursery website for updated information.
When you unwrap your plants from the brown paper here are a few tips…
>>Check the ‘tube’ or pot that it came in. It should be damp or wet. If not then soak the plant until all the planting medium is wet through. I usually tease the roots apart without breaking them. I plant it at the same level as it was planted in the tube or pot. Not deeper or too shallow.
>>My garden has quite a lot of animal and people traffic where plants could get trampled easily so… If my new plant is small I will pot it up first before putting it into the garden. I have a transitional area that is shaded for the pots to grow on a little.
>>Order plants that will be ready to go into the garden when you get them. In other words, order tropicals later in the year not in January unless you have a greenhouse. Hardy (in your zone) plants can be transplanted all year into the garden but you may not see much growth for the first couple of months.
Good instructions are usually included with the shipment and every time I’ve had to call and ask a question I got great help.
When I look out in my own garden right now, I see some blank spots, I see plants that look bad after the winter, I see spaces where there were annuals, and bulbs. Now is a great time to see what has year round interest and what doesn’t. Conifers are showing up more and more in my garden. They have such great structure year round and add punctuation marks to the garden stopping your eye from skimming over a bed that is low and one height. The Northwest Flower and Garden Show also highlights some great local specialty nurseries. They bring plants and sell them retail at the show. Some are just starts in bags, some are in 1 gallon and 2 gallon containers. Hope to see you all there. I’m sure you will find me with some plants stashed behind my display garden or in my car.
Nursery’s listed in this post…
Plant Delights
Forest Farm
Cistus Nursery
Far Reaches Farm
Dragonfly Farms Nursery
by Kristen | Jan 27, 2014 | gardening, Plantswoman Design
What, you may ask, does HHT stand for? Well, Horticultural Hot Topics of course!
As I head into the new year I often review the past year and think about goals for the coming year. What have I accomplished, what do I need to do, what do I want to do and what do I want to learn more about? This year is going to be great! I’m excited about new gardens to create including a cloister garden, a beach side sunken hot tub, and modern garden with a Petanque. Lots of times this involves research, learning new styles of gardens, and new ways to look at things. That really keeps me interested in the overall concept of gardening within different types of spaces and in new ways. Along these lines there are always some topics to think about. I love to hear what other people say about gardening and how that all effects where horticulture goes today and tomorrow. It gives time to think and reflect about where gardening has come from and where it is going.
The term ‘garden room’ has been around several years now. As gardeners, we were excited to think of a way to bring non-gardeners into the garden to help them start gardening. Right now there is a little bit of back lash against the ‘room’ concept in horticultural circles. More of what we are seeing is hard-scape and consumer related stuff. You can fill a garden room with all kinds of brick-a-brac (my mothers word for junk). Special ‘outdoor’ seating, lamps, cushions, rugs, lighting, containers, table top water fountains and…… so on. I think (and many of my contemporaries too) that the garden room should contain more PLANTS. After all, the connection with nature that we seek to promote probably should actually have something growing in it. My dirty fingers and muddy knees would have no place in many of the garden rooms I’ve been seeing. Gardening for the pleasure of gardening is being lost. To put a seed in the ground and see it turn into a tree is an AMAZING thing. It is not instant but it is amazing. Teaching a child to plant a sunflower and have it grow taller than the house is fairly easy and could possibly create a gardener for life. Whether you’ve got new plants, old plants, grafted plants or cuttings the garden should be about growing something. Caring for a plant, figuring out what is wrong with it , how to cultivate it and how to harvest it is the gardening experience. Years ago a cutting of a rose was taken from home and given to the newlyweds to take to their new house. The neighbor down the street shared her irises with anyone who would take them. Seeds were saved from vegetables to use the next year. Seeds were sometimes stolen in secret from botanical gardens so the gardener could have some of the same in their own gardens. Admittedly, I have a habit of gathering seeds from roadsides and pathways when I travel (I declare them at the border and check to see if they are on an invasive plant species list, and, even then, only grow them inside my greenhouse). And, even though I may be unsuccessful at times, I have had more fun trying to grow these reminders of fun places and times. So, I challenge you to grow something in your garden room, don’t just buy something for it, unless, of course, it’s a plant.
Invasive plants are still a hot topic within the horticultural main stream. They get lots of press about controlling them and eradicating them from your garden, the hedgerows, highways, and byways. I ran across a couple of chef’s in Texas that are ‘Eating the Invaders’. How cool is that? They plan a whole menu from invasive Himalayan blackberry cobbler (yes even in Texas the blackberry has spread) to wild boar. Wouldn’t it be so fun to plan a menu with blackberries, dandelions, lambs quarters, wakame, bullfrog legs, mussels, and other invasive species? Have a party to spread the word in a culinary way about the dangers to our coastlines and gardens. Interested? I’ve included a couple of links to get you started on “Eradication by Mastication.”
How about eating a Cricket Protein bar on your way to work? Read about that here.
Wondering about invasive species in the Northwest? Take a look here.
And check out what’s happening in Oregon here (I’m a little worried about eating sparrows)… Bon appetit!
While on vacation this holiday season I had the privilege of watching several shows about princesses, kingdoms, princes, and fairy land with my youngest grand daughter. (Yes she is 5) And while I’ve been graduated from “fairy land” for the last few years I did get to watch one really cool movie called the ‘Snow Queen’. The best thing about it is one of the villains was a gardener. Seriously! How many times to gardeners get to be a “bad guy”? Usually we are cast as wonderful nurturing beings. Loving the earth, helping to create a lovely place to live, growing food to give to family and friends, giving away flowers to the church, and visiting the poor with our over abundance of squash. This gardener was not! She grew and nurtured an ivy plant that would creep out of the garden and capture those who passed by her garden. Ultimately she was killed by her own creation and everybody (except the gardener) lived happily ever after. Of course I thought “how could that relate to me”? I’m loving,(except to pink flowers) gentle (except to weeds), kind (except to slugs), and love to share squash with anyone. Wait a minute maybe I’m the bad one. I will try this year to be a better gardener. I will accept and embrace the existence of flowers in any color, pull weeds and continue to feed them to the chickens instead of using a chemical that harms the soil, I will give my excess squash to my chickens and the goats next door instead of forcing it on my over “squashed” neighbors. Still hard to imagine becoming a fan of slugs but I do promise to continue using Eco-friendly slug bait that doesn’t harm the birds and pets in my garden.
What things are on your HHT this year? What things are happening in your neighborhood that make you want to stand up and speak out?
by Kristen | Jan 22, 2014 | Plantswoman Design
