Saturday, February 11, 2012

Seattle Flower Show 2012

A small segment of the entrance floral display
Yesterday my friend Judy and I joined the Bellingham Senior Activity Center on an all-day trip south to attend Seattle's 2012 Flower and Garden Show. It is always held at the Washington Convention Center in downtown Seattle, so it's nice not to have to drive there in traffic and find a place to park for the day. We left Bellingham around 9:00am and arrived at the Convention Center before 11:00, after stopping to pick up some attendees in Burlington and making a stop at a rest area. Although the Hesselgrave bus had a bathroom, many of the seniors didn't want to use it. I could see why; many of them were pretty unsteady on their feet.
The first thing to see after passing through the massive display of flowers in bloom at the entrance are these lovely arrangements, dozens of them from different florists in the area. It was difficult to get good pictures of these because the windows looked out on outdoor scenes, but I fell in love with the beauty of this one and got a good picture. After entering the Convention Center proper, we had hundreds of booths to navigate, selling everything from gardening implements to yard art, tablecloths, t-shirts, you name it. We made a concerted effort to see every booth and stopped at many on our way to the display gardens in the center.
Dozens of landscape artists create these little scenes from scratch, making lovely areas that draw you in and let you feel what it would be like to have this scene in your own back yard. I think there were at least 25 different settings like this one. Some of them had running water making ponds and waterfalls. It's amazing to think of the effort that goes into this five-day-long show!
Here's another scene that capitalizes on the red bush, bringing out the red checkered curtains and red pump. It looked like there were people in the little house, but of course there was nobody "home." Or even another side to the wall! How they fit all this together with one display after another had to take some doing. Walking through these gardens to get to the next section (orchids and bulbs) took quite a long time, with lots of ooh-ing and aah-ing. But back to the flowers.
Did I mention the smells? With all these scenarios and gardens galore, the odors of flowers mingled with pine chips and fresh soil... I was a little worried when I realized I had forgotten my allergy medicine, in case I needed it, but I didn't have any problems at all. My nose was in heaven. Not to mention my eyes. In one of the gardens this cute little display of an "insect hotel," which is designed to attract beneficial insects in the garden, caught my eye.
All kinds of nooks and crannies, not to mention places that little birds might find of interest, too, and this is just a small portion of the hotel! I wonder if the ants and bugs send out invitations to their friends, telling them to come on over to the Insect Hotel. After we had our fill of the gardens, we headed over to the bulbs and orchid section of the show, filled with live plants and lots of bulbs to spruce up your own garden, and incredible displays of orchids. These two were some of my favorites.
I could almost imagine these to be faces under big showy hats, looking back at me as I snapped away with my camera. At 3:10pm we were to return to the place where we were dropped off, so that we could board our bus and start our journey north. One person didn't show up on time, but once she was located and we began our return trip, a light rain was falling on the windshield. We didn't care; we were snug inside warm and dry. We got back to the Senior Center before 6:00pm. It was a long day, but a very enjoyable one. Sometimes I think that four hours is not going to be enough time to see everything, but considering how tired I was when I got home, I realize it was just right.
:-)

32 comments:

  1. It sounds like you all had a great day at the flower show, and you certainly got some nice photos DJan. I don't think I've ever been to a flower show before. I like walking through gardens and botanical buildings but don't really care that much for the shows.

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  2. this is so cool...we went to the one in NYC last year...loved seeing all the flowers and their creative presentations...

    and love seattle too...the wild ginger is a fav restaurant and i like going to the fish market area...

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  3. I'm so jealous of you and Linda! That is such an awesome garden show! Wow! I wish we had something like it here in Hawaii.

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  4. Honestly, I swear I could smell those flowers as I scrolled through the images. I love that first little scene.. it looks so homey and relaxing. Sounds like you had a fine day. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  5. I'm surprised you didn't run into Linda Reeder. Looking at your pictures and Linda's I'd say that was one heck of a show. Beautiful.

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  6. A flower show would be awesome! I would go to it. Home shows? No.
    I was wondering all through your post when you would get to smell. You finally did.

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  7. Oh. That looked wonderful. Thank you so much for taking us with you. Great photos too.

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  8. Oh wow! Gorgeous! And such a delight to see in the dead of winter, too. Those orchids do look like ladies with either huge hats or those crazy tall huge bouffant hairstyles from centuries ago with big ringlets curling down the sides of their cheeks--LOL! ;) What a fun day!! Thanks so much for the pictures, Djan. All those many little created outdoor spots must have been such fun to visit. :)

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  9. Gorgeous shots, DJan! I am so impressed. It is interesting how you and Linda Reeder attended the same show, but posted different photos. I loved the one of the pavers leading to that little house, not to mention that shot of the orchids. Chef's hats, indeed! Love your sense of humor! You probably took a lot of pics. Please continue to show them on your blog!

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  10. I wish we had a show like that around here. I would enjoy seeing it. Yours is just one beautiful flower display after another. It would be hard to pick a favorite.

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  11. All of those flowers are gorgeous. That is my idea of a great way to spend a rainy day. I love those little "scenes" especially the red one. I wish this wasn't so far away from us.

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  12. I think I would have liked the little vignettes the best - small oases in a sea of people!
    I often see faces in flowers. There's a special part of our brains devoted to facial recognition, and mine is often sparked by flowers and even car headlights and grills!

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  13. This was a treat for the eyes. I have gone to the flower shows similar to this in Denver, but there is no comparison. This one is far superior. I loved the pictures you chose to share with us.

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  14. I loved that insect hotel and got several pics of it. I would like to try something like that in my garden.

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  15. Dear DJan,
    The details you provided in this fascinating posting made me feel as if I'd taken that bus with you to the garden show. I would so like to know more about that "insect hotel." That's intriguing. And for the first time, I really could see a face in one of the orchids.

    I'm glad your allergies didn't give you any problems. What a day you had. And did you end it with a nice long nap?

    Peace.

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  16. Your pictures turned out great! Bet you had a hard time picking out the ones to put in your blog- you had so many good ones.

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  17. Oh those colors of the Tulips and Daffodils..stunning! I liked the Insect Hotel too..lots of great ideas there. It sounds like a great outing! I am so glad you went..so we could see the photos!! Thanks!

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  18. How beautiful and the flowers are fabulous. I really have a fondness for flowers and your photos are super. Our Philadelphia Flower Show is always the first week in March and they have a website with a preview video showing the design and theme of Hawaii: Islands of Aloha. It seems like they have held this event forever, or at least as long as I have lived in this area. It promises to be great as usual. We really enjoy attending. I am encouraged that so many cities hold flower shows to celebrate the onset of spring. My spirits need flowers.

    I've never heard of a bug house, but that sounds like a great idea. I need bugs that eat deer ticks :-)

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  19. Fantastic! I have always wanted to go...Your pictures brought me into the show. I have seen pictures, etc. over the years, especially when Ed Hume had his gardening show. Thanks for taking us with you!

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  20. What fun! I need to make a good effort to get to Mpls, this spring for the flower show there. To be surrounded by all that beauty! It's great that you have bus services for these things, as driving into the city and finding parking is always a tribulation. To walk around and not have to drive home, but just relax, would be a great way to go.

    Beautiful pictures. Love that first arrangement.

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  21. What a wonderful way to start moving into spring! You've made me want to make the pilgrimage north next year and see these sights for myself. I could almost smell the flowers coming from the screen as I read this post.

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  22. I feel as though I've just been there, enjoying the colors and forms and scents. And looking forward to spring!

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  23. How convenient that you could enjoy the day without having to drive and park. I'm going to look into senior center field trips when we get home.

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  24. I'm super jealous. We were planning to go but decided to hold out and use the money for a weekend road trip in April. But it sounds like you had a great time!

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  25. How beautiful - all of it. And the colors are magnificent. Wish blogs could transmit the delicious scents that must have been moving through the air.

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  26. What a beautiful show! I wish I could take my girls to see something like this :)

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  27. I think this would be a PERFECT solution to the winter doldrums...for at least.

    Gorgeous pictures...

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  28. Beautiful pictures of a wonderful day out! Just my sort of day! but yes,it is tiring. I don't really know why. Maybe it's a sensory overload or something. I think you can get just as tired looking round places as if you're doing a proper walk. What do you think?
    Nothing to compare with these beautiful flowers. We have the Chelsea Flower Show over here, which is very similar.
    Thank you for showing us. I really enjoyed looking and sharing your experience.

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  29. It looks like you found some snow in Winter (previous post) and some flowers. That will liven things up. I love the glasses on the fungi. Maybe it will grow some ears and lips as well!

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  30. Great post DJ. There is something really special about winter flower shows for those of us living in northern climes. Happy Valentines day... :)

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  31. I'm coming over from Gigi Hawaii for a visit. Lots of interesting things here. You are a very active person!

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  32. Gorgeous flowers! And such vibrant colours!!! So refreshing in winter... :o)

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