Soup & Soulmates: Kindness at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show

I am a story teller at heart. Big or small. Funny or poignant. I love to convey my personal experiences. I have been letting my time at the Northwest Flower and Garden show percolate and one experience stands out.

Table for 1: Eating lunch alone in a sea of people. It was lunchtime and the crowds were as hungry as I was. I had met a few magnificent people who work in garden writing (yea!) but the number of people I know in Seattle can be counted on two hands. Lunch alone was a foregone conclusion.

I bought a beautiful bowl of chicken ramen soup and searched for an empty seat. The table area was completely full of people and packages. I noticed 3 adults at a table for four and asked if I could join them. They graciously rearranged their food and packages to make room for me.

At my table was an adult woman and her husband who had come with her father on their annual trip to the garden show. I gave my animated summary of moving to Seattle for my husband's job, the fact that I still had to sell my house in Michigan and that I loved roses (and herbs and flower arranging and color) more than anything and that I couldn't wait to have my own garden in this new climate which has a far longer growing season than southeastern Michigan. And then I ate my soup. 

They noticed my show badge and I told them a little about that morning's Tweet Up (a pre-show gathering of writers to load social media with #NWFGS content). 

I learned that all three of them were specialists in various aspects of botany, garden landscape and horticulture. It was then that the mostly silent father slid a piece of paper over to me. He had written his contact information in detail onto a piece of paper and said that I was welcome to come see his garden this summer. He would tell me about all about everything on his land and show off his garden, one that had been photographed for magazines featuring the Pacific Northwest. 

I couldn't believe it. It was so very kind and completely unexpected. Then I remembered the rambling I had done about roses and flowers and more and realized that he probably felt the very same way. Kindred spirits come in all shapes and sizes and he could tell we were cut form the same cloth, just 40 years apart.

It is mid March now, but you can be sure that I will drive over to Tacoma this summer to get a very special garden tour. 

Victoria, B.C.: Visiting Butchart Gardens: An Experience Not To Be Missed

Have you ever planned to go somewhere for fun and ended up loving it so much you couldn't believe it wasn't the sole purpose of your trip?  That's how I feel about my visit to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia.

For years I have heard about High Tea at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria.  It was featured in Victoria magazine once and I have been thinking about it ever since.  When I got this opportunity to visit Seattle with my husband, we both looked at the map and realized that Victoria, British Columbia was finally within reach.

Then when I started planning our Easter weekend getaway, several friends mentioned Butchart Gardens as a great addition to our trip.  Great, I thought to myself. Fresh air, a chance to walk around, maybe a few things will be in bloom.

I was not prepared for:

• the size of this garden, which felt as large as a grand estate in England and contains many gardens (bog, Japanese, Sunken)  
• the quality of the plantings, which included unusual varieties of bulbs (not the primary color swath that often happens in gardens for the public), gorgeous specimens of plants and blooms I'd never seen
• the quantity of the plantings, the planners have considered every inch. The open spaces, the smaller sweet gardens, the larger focal piece gardens. Everything felt beautiful and well-planned, not layered or phony like Disney World.

I actually need more time to think about my visit and expound a little more. I will write more in a day or so. For now, I will show you some of my favorite photos.

(near the rose garden)

(I loved these "floral dictionary" display where visitors could identify their favorite plants that were in bloom that day.)

(We sat on a bench and enjoyed this fountain display - the water pattern changed every once it a while and it was fun to hear the visitors react - "Oooh, look!")

It's Tulip Time, One Way or Another

It's tulip time, the oh-so-important time frame in the Fall when you need to plant your tulip bulbs so that you are able enjoy them next Spring. 

I must be honest and admit that in my backyard, the squirrels have won.  Until there is some bulb-breakthrough, I can't plant tulips again only to find that they were eaten by my pesky neighbors.  I've sprinkled them with hot sauce, planted them under wire barriers, you name it and they are always gone by Spring. 

My message here is two-fold.  If you have luck with tulips, it's time to get out there and plant.  If you have my situation, it's time to promise yourself a trip to Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan.  There are 6 million tulip bulbs planted and ready for us to ooh and ahhh over the first week or so in May.  Next year the Holland Tulip Festival is May 3-10th, 2014 and I am going.  

My last visit was in 2007 and I miss it!  When the tulip fields are blooming, my heart swells.  

These "Angelique" tulips (above) look like peonies, don't they?

When something this lovely happens only once a year, it is worth it to get out your calendar and commit.  Before school picnics and soccer matches dictate your weekends, write "Tulip Time" on your calendar the first weekend in May (I just did!).  

That way, when you are scheduling your entire Spring, you can glance at your calendar and say, "Oh gosh, I'd love to, but I'll be at Tulip Time enjoying 6 million tulips that day.  Maybe the next weekend?"

Ha! But you know I'm serious.  If you don't put it on the calendar now, it gets very hard to find the time later.  Post some pictures from your trip on my Moments of Delight Facebook Page, ok?

Tulip Time

Tulips are proof that gardeners are organized and optimistic!

This time of year there is a chill in the air.  The trees are changing from green to every imaginable shade of red, yellow and orange.  The magazines are full of chili recipes.  There is college football on television every Saturday.  It is Fall and the cider mill beckons. 

But we will not be distracted.  Gardeners around the country are faithfully planning a spectacular Spring 2012.  Fall is the time to plant Spring blooming bulbs: tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and then even more tulips.  Just look at the sea of white tulips with delicate green markings (above) called "Spring Green."  It makes me want to fill my beds with tulips!

My favorite collection of tulips is a pastel mix that says "Easter Bonnet" mix on the packaging.  In life and lipsticks, it is all about the name.  When I heard the phrase "Easter Bonnet" it was all over.  I've found this collection in upscale garden centers (as well as the link I provided above), but shop early.  All the other girls like the name too!

Plant Tulips

Did you plant tulips this year? My greatest tulip achievement (man vs squirrel) was when I planted my bulbs in pots. I planted two large Martha Stewart for Kmart classic pots with Apricot Beauty and left them outside over the Winter on the sunny side of the house.

The trick was that I covered each pot with 2 layers of bricks. The squirrels couldn't get the bricks off to dig down and eat my bulbs! Hallelujah.

I have had my share of tulip-tastrophies too. Note to self: If you make custom-fit wire screens for the inside of your pots to keep the squirrels out, you have to remember to remove the screens from under the dirt in the Spring or your bulbs will be trapped! I kept waiting and waiting and couldn't understand why no green sprouts were coming up. By the time I realized my mistake, the bulbs were beyond saving. The next year I was back to bricks!

My point is, don't be discouraged if you have tulip challenges. Be creative...and then write yourself a note on your calender so you remember what to do in the Spring! The result is SO worth it!

Secret Garden

Isn't this lovely? I found a little garden tucked beside a gift shop called Cottage Cache in Hobe Sound.

I love when a shopkeeper looks at all 360 degrees of their business. A wonderful shopping experience includes the approach to the building (a lovely garden arch with draping blooms), the welcome sounds (music playing) and a beautiful selection of products. This darling spot has it all. I just wish I could remember the name of this gorgeous vine.

Sunshine & Time

Have you ever grown nasturtiums? Known on my street as the "eat-able" flowers (you remember my Garden Club Girls, right?), nasturtiums are easy to grow from seed and are edible (if you avoid sprays and fertilizer). My Mom & I rely on Renee's Garden Seeds for our garden and have already ordered this year's assortment. With names like "Whirlybird" and "Creamsicle," how can you resist? Simply fill a pot with dirt, push the seeds in and water. After that, all you need is sunshine & time. These bright blooms are beautiful in arrangements and striking on their own.

Hail the Hibiscus

I love the candy-like colors of tropical flowers. This beauty is a hibiscus, blooming easily in the Florida landscape. The bushes are usually loaded with flowers wafting in the breeze, relaxed, as if creating an 8-inch bloom wasn't a major accomplishment.

I usually see hibiscus blooming in some one's pretty landscaping. If I had a bush of my own, I would pluck a flower off the stem and tuck it behind my ear like a movie star in Hawaii.

I was thinking that I'd like a nail polish this color, wouldn't you?

Vintage Teacup

What am I planning for January? Tiny blossoms in a vintage teacup! The man at the garden center told me that these Muscari "Valerie Finnis" bulbs need 6 weeks of cold sleep and then can be brought out into a warm room to grow. I have planted them in this vintage teacup (look at the unusual cup shape!) and it is now tucked away in the refrigerator. Just after New Years, I'll bring it out and let the warm sunshine in my family room work its magic.

It is my own little Secret Garden.

Spaced & Placed

I whipped up a few simple pillows on the sewing machine this weekend and as I was hand-stitching them closed, I started thinking about quilts. Quilting is so precise - each stitch is meticulously spaced and placed. I took this photograph of a quilt square one day as the sun was going down - the angle of the light brought out every stitch.

I wanted to tell you about region in northern Indiana's Amish country that offer tours of "Quilt Gardens." I saw it mentioned in Midwest Living magazine and I have it on my list of places I want to visit. Plots of dirt planted with flowers to mimic famous quilt patterns! So interesting, I thought you would enjoy taking a peek.

Morning, Glory!

By now you know how I feel about flowers...right? Well, I am wondering about you. Have you ever grown Morning Glories? 

This variety is called "Heavenly Blue" and is, by far, my favorite. In the Spring you have to decide...you can start from seed and have teeny green sprouts winding their way up bamboo skewers in your kitchen or you can go find healthy established plants at the garden center and plant them outside right away.

I plant mine in a pot and string clear fishing line between the skewers and a row of clear push pins attached to the trim of the house. They quickly grow up the line and are a pretty way to add height & color to a patio area. 

My grandfather used to cover the sunny side of the house with chicken wire and plant morning glories all along the base. Weeks later he had a solid wall of green vines and triumphant blue flowers and my mom remembers the day that the newspaper came to photograph his grand display.  Now that is sharing delight!