The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is a tradition for many gardeners in Washington, so I personally invite you to visit the show February 23 – 27 at the Seattle Convention Center.
While you are there, stop by the Washington State Nursery & Landscape Association display, ‘Cook’s Endeavor Returns with Treasure,’ which I designed with my WSNLA colleagues Megan Pulkkinen, Kirsten Lints, and Lloyd Glasscock. Visitors to the display can pick up a special Garden Vision Garden Show discount card which entitles you to special pricing on landscape design services.
The WSNLA display illustrates the show theme, “Once Upon a Time… Spectacular Gardens with Stories to Tell,” by exploring horticultural history inspired by the novel ‘Stowaway’ by ‘Karen Hesse.
Imagine how fantastic and exotic Australia would have appeared to intrepid young ”Stowaway”, Nicholas, when he landed with the company of scientists and artists from the HMS Endeavour. While illustrating a scene from ‘Stowaway’, our garden highlights botanical discoveries that were typical of Captain Cook’s voyages as well as others of that era. View a scene where Joseph Banks and company landed on a plant hunting expedition and see the wonders of this new land. A bubbling spring in a shady grotto provides the landing party with a vital commodity for sea voyages – water. Recent horticultural finds are drying in the sun while waiting to be documented in journals, and then packed for the journey home. Supplies are stored under a shelter made from local materials. Bold leaves and colors capture attention on the sunny side. Look closely to discover fauna ‘living’ near the spring, the beach or rocky outcrop.
While inspired by historic voyages, the garden includes lush and diverse plant material from many different continents, climate zones and topographies. Learn about plant material from many different continents, climate zones and topographies. The garden also demonstrates the design principles of correct placement for microclimates.
Explore the treasure trove of possibilities available in the northwest. Be inspired to create botanically distinctive arrangements of color and texture in your own garden with plants from around the globe.
As an added bonus for my blog readers, the complete plant list for the display garden will be available here just before the show opens.