Northwest Flower & Garden Show – Seminars Galore!

January 27th, 2012
An Offering

An offering: DIG Nursery 2011 NWFGS Container Display

My last Garden Show post hinted at all the great seminars coming to this year’s show. This post will drill down on my top ten must-see speakers. Coming up with just ten was near impossible given all the talent speaking at the show this year. Really, you won’t go wrong plopping yourself down for any of the talks. If I could be in three places at once, I’d hit them all. That being said, in no particular order, here’s my “I gotta hear’m” speaker list for the Northwest Flower & Garden Show 2012 Seminar Series:

  • Rosalind Creasy: The grande dame of edible gardening will be speaking twice at this year’s show. Both of her seminars focus on beautiful edible gardening, and both should be visually stunning and highly educational for garden-to-fork gardeners.
    • Edible Landscaping: The New American Garden: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:30am (Rainier Room)
    • The Heirloom Garden: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 11:30am (Rainier Room)
  • Jayme Jenkins: Two things intrigue me about Jayme’s hands-on learning session at the show: cocktails and an edible table. That’s all I know, and I hope to make it to her session to learn how to create this living table. I’m guessing it’ll grow edibles to put into cocktails, but I won’t know for sure until I hit her seminar.
    • Edibles Cubed: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 5:15pm (DIY Stage)
  • Teresa O’Connor:
    Drink Me

    Drink in the 2012 NWFGS Seminars!

    I love flowers in my food. I don’t think I’ve ever actually cooked a flower — except maybe an artichoke. I’m looking forward to learning more about edible flowers in this alluring session.

    • The Allure of Edible Flowers: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 9:30am (Hood Room)
  • Willi Galloway: I’ve been waiting years for Willi’s new book on growing, cooking and eating fresh from the garden. It’s just been released, and what better way to get an intro (and a signed copy) than to let the author introduce it?
    • Grow. Cook. Eat.: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 1:30pm (Hood Room)
  • Dan Hinkley: To be honest, I’d rather get out in the field with this intrepid plant explorer than sit in a room and listen to him talk. That being said, I’ll take what I can get: Two seminars that should help us keep our gardens growing strong.
    • Myths, Fables, Fantasies or Facts?: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 4:00pm (Rainier Room)
    • Survivors: Indianola: Friday, February 10, 2012 at 11:30am (Rainier Room)
  • Jeff Lowenfels: A scientific look at why we should garden with less chemical inputs? Why yes. I’ll take that!
    • No More Chemicals in Your Garden!: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 6pm (Hood Room)
  • Joe Lamp’l: I’ve been behind the scenes of Growing a Greener World. I’ve been a guest, and I’ve written episodes. But, I’m certainly no Joe Gardener! Get Joe’s unique take as the creator, star and producer of this ground-breaking show that goes beyond the garden. He’s got some great tales to tell!
    • Subaru Presents: Growing a Greener World: Friday, February 10, 2012 at 1pm (Rainier Room) & again on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 12:45pm (Rainier Room) – also, just found out his book signing will happen on the sky bridge — look for the Subaru & you’ll find him.
  • Jessi Bloom: Chickens. Everybody wants chickens these days, but too often the dream becomes a nightmare. Fortunately, Jessi’s experience with poultry has been compiled into a newly released book, which she’ll be introducing in this seminar. Think you want chickens? Be sure in this seminar — before you order up a dozen cute little chicks!
    • What the Cluck?: Part 1: Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 3:15pm (Hood Room) & Part 2: Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 1:30pm (Hood Room)
  • Mayhem, Murder & Must-Nots

    Who Dunnit? Mayhem? Murder? Must-Not (Touch!)

    Robin Haglund: Yes, I will plug my seminar. I’ve worked hard to build a presentation that will help beginners (and even some pro’s) to be better gardeners. Expect lots of photos and an information-filled, fast-paced talk looking at ways to avoid huge, costly gardening mistakes BEFORE they happen. Oh, and did I mention, I’ll be giving away generously donated Fiskars tools as well? The Right tool really can make all the difference in getting the job done right!

    • Mayhem, Murder & Must-Nots: Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 10am (Rainier Room)
  • Richard Bitner: In the last year or so, I’ve been falling back in love with conifers. My hope is that this seminar will introduce some great selections for disease resistance as well as smaller spaces.
    • Gardening with Conifers: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11am (Hood Room)
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Northwest Flower & Garden Show 2012 – What Not to Miss!

January 25th, 2012

Gussied Up at the 2010 Gala in Front of Jessi Bloom's Award Winning Garden

We’re just a few days away from the 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show. This is my must-not-miss timeline list for the 2012 show, which runs from February 8-12, 2012:

  • Tuesday, February 7th, 5-9:30pm: Yep, starting the night before the show opens to the general public is the Gala Preview Opening, which benefits the Seattle Arboretum Foundation. For as little as $65/person, you can sip wine while getting up-close & personal with the gardens and garden creators. Hob-nob with the best-of-the-best in the international horty world, and bid on some pretty amazing silent auction deals.
  • Everyday at the show: Okay, so the timeline idea doesn’t work perfectly for this post, so let’s talk about what to see everyday — in addition to the amazing show gardens & shopping:
    • PlayGarden: This area isn’t just for kids! Get in there and touch some soil. Dance around. Sing a song. And have a blast. In years past, when speakers and entertainers were only available on the weekends in the kids area, I enjoyed doing hands-0n teaching with kids here. Now kids can learn hands-on all day long everyday in this space. Last year’s Charlotte’s Web theme kicked off a new way for kids to experience the show, and it was a hit — packed to the gills with kids, parents & learning all day long. This year they’re continuing in that vein with a Rockin’ Robin theme — a song after this Robin’s heart!
    • Great Plant Picks: If you’re struggling with finding rock-solid plant performers in the Pacific Northwest, a great place to start is with a few bits of flora from this ever-evolving list of greats. A new list comes out every year just in time for the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, so stop by their booth to get the word on the latest & greatest!

      Coloring and Sorting Through Worms with Kids at the 2009 NWFGS

    • Container Show: When you cross the skybridge, be sure to take the time to look closely at all of the amazing container designs lining the glass walls. Last year, our fabulously talented client Mari put together a stellar design, which took the Best Re-Characterization award. I can’t wait to see who does what in 2012!
    • Seminars: Let’s just say that this is where you’ll find me during most of the show. I’m making it a personal mission to learn by sitting down and listing to others. Within a few days, I’ll post my list of I gotta hear’m speakers. For now, I’ll shamelessly remind you that I will be speaking on Saturday morning at the show. I’ll be addressing Mayhem, Murder & Must-nots: Top 10 Maintenance Mistakes Gardeners Should Avoid. You’ll get lots of photos, ideas and may even win some free tool giveaways to help you garden to the best of your potential! (We’ll talk more about those giveaway goodies in a forthcoming post specific to the amazing seminar lineup.)
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Native Edible Plants: An Historical Look at Indigenous Use

January 23rd, 2012

Native Evergreen Huckleberry Begins Its Long Bloom Season to be Followed by Delicious Berries

Seattle’s Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture is featuring an exhibit illustrating native plants and indigenous people of the Salish region. It is a collaborative effort between the museum and the tribes, which are working to re-infuse their diets with traditional foods.  And, this is only a small part of a larger exhibit that will introduce museum patrons to 10 families eating in 10 different countries around the world.

The Pacific Northwest Native feature, Salish Bounty: Traditional Native American Foods of Puget Sound, should prove to be particularly interesting to those of us in the region seeking to infuse our gardens with native, edible plants. While the larger exhibition, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, will explore the larger issue of eating in the modern world.

The exhibit runs from January 28, 2012 – June, 10, 2012. The museum is open 10am-5pm; the first Thursday of the month, they stay open until 8pm and admission is free on this day.  Additional details available here.

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Some Things Really Do Get Better with Age

January 19th, 2012
45 MPH

I'm Driven to Age Well!

Whether I like it or not, I’m going to turn 45 this year. I can’t turn back the clock or erase the wrinkles. But, I can celebrate the fact that I’ve been blessed with over four decades of a relatively healthy & happy life. In general, my life has improved with age. And, it would seem the same is true of a fantastic tool that came to life the same year I did.

Today Fiskars tool company reminded me that their iconic, lightweight, ground-breaking Original Orange-Handed Scissors are celebrating their 45th birthday just like me!

To celebrate, Fiskars is offering a number of events, drawings and some pretty cool give-away’s, including one with us detailed at the end of this post. As for the events, personally, I can’t wait to see the guest spot they’ve lined up with outstanding topiary gardener Pearl Fryar slated for February 27, 2012!

I grew up in a house where these special scissors were off-limits to the likes of me — a kid with a penchant for digging holes in the garden or grooming my pet goat with mom’s best sewing scissors. Although I wasn’t allowed to ruin Mom’s shears, I can’t remember a time before those orange handled tools existed.  Once I graduated from the round-tipped, useless preschooler-friendly kid scissors that can’t even cut paste, I was relegated to using Mom’s old, dull, clunky, heavy shears to do my cutting damage. How I pined for the light, sharp ones. When I grew up, these were the ones I bought.

45 Year Anniversary of DesignAnd I loved using them for much more grown-up endeavors. At least until my hands became more and more debilitated over the years.

Using traditional scissors, even lightweight, sharp ones, can be awkward for me these days. My hands are somewhat damaged from years of heavy, thoughtless use. Fortunately, Fiskars has never stopped thinking, innovating and developing for people struggling with arthritis and other limitations like mine,  which make traditional tools tough to use.

Their line of Easy-Action shears shows that even the best products can be improved upon. By no means do I wish to say that the original is any less good than this line, which has been awarded the Arthritis Foundation Easy-of-Use Commendation. What I do mean to say is that even if we have broken new ground, redefined an industry, and created a world-class product, there’s no excuse for resting on our laurels.

And, fortunately, Fiskars has created these scissors that enable my rhematoid arthritis-suffering Mom to easily open bags of potting soil and snip bouquets. Heck! She’s the one who told me how rockin’ these tools are. When I got a pair, I knew she was right. As Mom had put it:  “When I try to use regular scissors, it’s like trying to write with the wrong hand.” With these newer styles, that’s never a problem!

Sometimes reinventing ourselves & avoiding stagnation really does ensure we get better with age.

To celebrate our shared 1967 birth and 45 years of scissor innovation, I’m teaming with Fiskars to offer you a chance to win a pair of the Original Orange-Handed Scissors or a pair of my favorite Easy Action Scissors.

Here’s how to enter & how a winner will be chosen: (don’t forget to sign up here for additional chances to win directly from Fiskars.) Read the rest of this entry »

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Garden Blogger Bloom Day – January 2012

January 15th, 2012
Arbutus unedo

Arbutus unedo blooming well past its usual fall flower season

Today the big news is snow!

That being said, a few intrepid winter flowers are coloring up the garden even as the snow flurries all ’round.

Fortunately, these hardy plants feed the birds and bees during times like these when foraging is rough for wildlife.

Year-round flowers mean much more than just eye candy for humans. For wildlife, they can mean the difference between surviving winter or dying a cold, frigid death on days like today.

Enjoy the beauty ahead!

Witch Hazel

Hamamelis: a Hummingbird banquet in January

Garrya elliptica

Long chains of Garrya's silvery-green-white are just beginning to break open

Schizostylis

A lone Schizostylis bud glowing pink in the cold

Sarcococca confusa

Perfuming the garden: Sarcococca confusa blooms

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