Gardens reflect growers
This year’s Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle signaled a big shift in how people think of their gardens. A few years ago gardens were merely a frame that set your house off on its lot along the street, but now, gardens are fast becoming extensions of our homes, reflecting who we are, our interests, histories, hobbies, lifestyles and fantasies.
One new trend is the showing and sharing of our hobbies and interests right there in the garden. An example of that was “Clair’s Canvas Garden” designed by Pamela Richards Garden Design of Seattle. Visual artist Clair had planted scented clematis and jasmine close to a cozy sitting space with a table decorated with some of Clair’s fabric art and set for evening guests.
Along the back of the garden was a fence made of recycled doors painted cocoa and pink and hung with pieces of Clair’s and her friends’ artwork. At the entrance of the garden was a mannequin decked out in a party dress that welcomed you to the garden.
Family memories and heritage played a role in several of the gardens at the show. Mike Palmer of Star Landscaping, took his memories of landscapes designed by his father and created a garden reminiscent of family adventures in the Northwest. Titled “In my Childhood Memories,” he included a seven-foot tall sand castle created from fond memories of their times at the beach.
John Faccone of Faccone Landscape and Nursery in Seattle, brought his Italian heritage into “The Italian Way” garden by building a bocce court amongst the hardy Mediterranean plants. His grandfather’s wine press stands ready in the back, waiting for the young and the old to help with the pressing. All that was missing were sounds of laughter from the kitchen.
Memories of world travels came together in Susan Browne’s “A Postcard from Home” garden. Walls painted in bright hues, more common in other cultures, were the backdrop to a sitting space just outside a back door. Plants reminded the garden visitor of far away places albeit in Northwest’s hardy versions. Souvenirs from travels served as garden art.
Formal outdoor rooms rounded out the crop of new ideas. They came complete with full fireplaces and fire pits – a necessity in the cool Seattle weather – kitchens with high-tech barbecues, dining and seating areas that invite guests to move outdoors. In the “You are Cordially Invited” garden of the Pacific Stone Co., they even had a real wedding on Saturday night.
Sustainable and ecologically sensitive landscaping was prominent in many gardens and seminars. In place of lawns, the designers used ground hugging plants of all types to give the illusion of a green ground cover. There was extensive use of low maintenance and water thrifty plants and lots of information about more efficient irrigation, fertilizing and pest control. Many gardens made extensive use of recycled bricks, stone and wood. Even scrap metal showed up as giant roosters and other art work.