Last week was Seattle’s NW Flower and Garden Show. This multi-day extravaganza features display gardens, educational seminars, and many opportunities to spend $$$. I had a little free time one day and shot some pictures, which I present here along with my commentary:
The Good
The “perfect” lawn is no longer just a monoculture of grass. At least two of the display gardens had flowers scattered for a designer version of ecoturf:
And a very cool repurposing of old heating vent covers as part of a patchwork of groundcovers:
The Questionable
A gorgeous Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), “born” in 1893:
I’m sorry. I have a real problem with digging up 108 year old trees for a garden display. I would be surprised if this tree will survive its relocation, wherever that might be. (Perhaps there was an explanation for this that I didn’t see, but mature trees should be moved only if absolutely necessary.)
I also wonder about the ethics of digging up a 700 year old alpine spruce (Tsuga mertensiana). I’m a fan of salvaging plants on sites slated for development, but somehow I doubt the Canadian Cascades are being threatened with condos.
And things that make you go hmmmm…
Pot…socks? Diapers?
Blackberry vines as tree decor
Nice pictures Linda I really dig the one that repurposed the grates – we are having own garden show in Chicago beginning this weekend. I can’t wait!
I plant crocuses in my front lawn but there is no way a lawn could be mowed that well around the flowers.
Were the old trees bonsai (and therefore, already in pots)? Bonsai get a regular pruning of their roots, among other things; they can be quite hardy.
The blackberry vine “decoration” gave me the heebie jeebies!
I also felt bad for that gorgeous maple. On the last day of the show it had ice cubes piled around the roots. I was wondering if it was an attempt to keep the tree dormant in the indoor warmth or just the remains of a Big Gulp!
I, too, love the re-purposed floor vents – think I’ll have to look for some of those for my own garden. And I am appalled that anyone would think to dig up a 100+ y.o. tree just for a display. Maybe it was on a piece of land slated for development and is merely waiting to be relocated ? Not that that’s much better, but at least it’s less pointless.
And if blackberry vines are the new “in” for tree decor, my Mom’s home has been hip for decades !
Digging up ancient trees is what bonsai artists do. For what it’s worth, it’s not done willy nilly. It’s a five year process; root pruning a quarter of the roots four years in a row, and digging it up the fifth year. Not to quibble, bit I thought Tsuga mertensia was mountain hemlock.
I’d bet that the Japanese maple was growing in a large container, probably a wooden box, and not recently dug. There’s nothing so sinister about the ice cubes around the tree. They’re used for trickle irrigation rather than dumping a bucket of water on the tree that will run off into the aisle. Works like a charm, and common practice for garden and nursery trade shows.