The flowers and the bees...

There are a couple of hotels we like stay at when in Seattle for the NWFG Fest, this year we chose the Coast Seattle on 6th Ave (formerly the Hilton). Since it was a tad chilly during the garden show (mornings started out in the low 30's) I took advantage of the hotel's underground concourse, which put me within a few feet of the Convention Center without having to go outside. Part of the walk takes you through the lobby area of Union Square (a high-rise office building complex), where several bright floral arrangements caught my eye.

Seeing them as I came and went over multiple days, I found myself studying the components. At first I was put off by the mix of what I think of as fancy tropicals (the red ginger, Alpinia purpurata I believe, and Anthurium) with more pedestrian Alstroemeria and (gasp!) Hydrangea. They just don't belong together! 

But why not? My garden is a mix of plants from far flung places, and I don't mind that mix up. The colors and textures of the flowers certainly work together—and it's not like they stuck daisies in the mix. The more I questioned my aversion the more I started to warm to the combination.

Here's another, smaller, version with the addition of Moluccella laevis (bells of Ireland), and maybe Eustoma in the center? The larger arrangement feels intentional, where as this one kind of had the look of being made of leftovers. I certainly don't mean that as a bad thing.

There was a florist, Floral Masters, in the building, off to the side on one of the escalator levels. Surely these must be their work? They weren't open when I passed by.

There were several open seating areas spread throughout the lobby, typically there were groups chatting, or solo folks working. Remarkably, all the tables had flowers...

A ceiling reflection.

Spaces with a little more privacy, still with flowers.

What a nice touch.

Hmmm, what's that going on outside?

Be hives!

Bees work too, sometimes adjacent to people working in fancy office building areas.

This was the view from our hotel room. The shorter building in the foreground is the Washington Athletic Club, behind it US Bank Center, which was known as Pacific First Centre back when I lived in Seattle in the 1990's. I managed a store for Williams Sonoma on the ground floor of that building.  

Looking a little to the left we could see a tiny slice of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains between Century Square (the building with the curved tops) and Rainier Square, the dark building with the setbacks. Can you make out the dark dot on the far right side top of the curved glass of Century Square? That's a person. Cleaning the glass? Doing a repair? Dunno, but I do know you couldn't pay me enough to be that person.

The Bit at the End

Do you know the word solastalgia? I just recently learned of it. Coined by Glenn Albrecht and derived from solacium (comfort) and algia (pain), it represents the loss of solace from a changing home environment. Wikipedia says: "Solastalgia is a form of emotional or existential distress caused by negatively perceived environmental change." If you're curious there's further explanation on the Climate Psychiatry Alliance page; here.

—   —   —

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control. 

All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude. 

2026 NW Flower & Garden Festival; the gardens

We're back at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, which took place last week in Seattle. Today I'll be walking you through what I loved in the show gardens. There were 21 large display gardens this year, and 10 of the city living gardens—don't worry I'm only sharing a fraction of that. I thought the overall style of the gardens was much more "approachable" and garden-like than in the past. In other words, less of the big outdoor kitchen hardscape craziness.

I can't quite believe how much I loved this one, "The Dye Garden" by Lacewing. I am a lover of textiles, but I don't usually respond to to fabric art. I think the pull I felt towards this panel (and another similar one) was that I interpreted it as an aerial photograph. A garden as seen from above...

The colors of the garden were all very harmonious, again, not colors I would normally respond to, but I loved the consistency.

Part of the garden description; "“The Dye Garden” invites visitors to explore how natural spaces inspire artistic expression through Pacific Northwest dye plants, highlighting the reciprocal relationship between ecological gardens and botanical artistry. Dyed silk panels and strands by artist Rachel Grunig are woven throughout the space, integrating with natural arbors crafted from spring-blooming branches. Guests are encouraged to interact by weaving silk strands into the arbors, set against a backdrop of Quaking Aspen and Lodgepole Pines"

The arbors (which I want to call arches) were fantastic.

I took these photographs around 6:30 pm on the opening day of the show, Wednesday.

I had to wonder, if this many fabric pieces were already woven though the branches, what would they look like by the time the show closed on Sunday evening? I made a mental note to go back and look before I left on Saturday, but I forgot! I did find this Instagram post from the garden maker.

The bowl filled with floating flowers at the center of the garden.

And a shot of where the hardscape meets the moss and plants, meets the rock border. I especially loved how this was done. I feel like some designers would have put the rocks right on the pavers, creating a hard edge. This was so much better...

The other panel, fronted by a crevice planting.

Next up, "Carex Into The Fuchsia," designed by Homegrown Organics; [this] garden playfully bridges two contrasting garden worlds, celebrating both restraint and exuberance. Outside, a meadow of sedges (Carex) highlights these often-overlooked plants—ecologically vital, resilient, and quietly beautiful—featuring native Pacific Northwest species alongside modern and exotic varieties. The garden’s focal point is the French Glass House, provided by Versailles Gardens in Portland, envisioned as a magical space for restoration and escape. Inside, the mood shifts to a lush, immersive display of cascading fuchsias set above ponds and water features alive with Japanese Rice Fish and aquatic plants."...

That glasshouse was AMAZING! I really loved the surrounding planting as well, although I heard some describe it as "messy" and noting that messy gardens never go over well at the show. Whatever. 

This rusty frame planted up in the garden was a nice touch (there were more of the same inside the glass house), but I would have like to see the loop at the top (for hanging) cut off, as is it looks like it doesn't really belong on the ground.

Messy? Or a welcome alternative to the gardens focusing on hardscape? Messy for the win...

Inside the glasshouse...

What an odd combination, a water-filled trough on top of two steel tube planters. I loved it.

I also loved this planting, partially submerged in water.

The Japanese Rice Fish (tiny blue critters) were flitting about the water bowl in the center of the glasshouse.

A parting shot...

Relish Gardens, "The Jewel Box: A Moment Preserved"..."captures the fleeting beauty and seasonality of the garden, reflecting both the preservation of the previous year’s bounty and the anticipation of the season ahead. Relish Gardens pairs sculptural pruning and layered planting to create rhythm and movement, weaving together edible and ornamental elements. The design layers texture, color, and form in small vignettes that reveal themselves gradually, like a jewel box. Salvaged and repurposed materials act as sculptural anchors, contrasting the softness of living foliage. A table setting invites visitors to imagine living and dining in the garden. Designed as an extension of a suburban or metropolitan home, the garden is a nod to the growing movement toward regenerative gardening and homesteading on a smaller scale."

The custom beehives from @rainydaybees (painted by @ashalodema) were next level fabulous, especially backed by that lush loquat (Eriobotrya japonica).

Upstaging the loquat was this! A papaya...

I took this photo because I loved the pavers and the way the table was placed in the garden, like it would be in "real life"... a dining table on a small patio, the center of a productive summer garden. Then I saw this post on the Relish Gardens Instagram, the table gathering.

I also loved the way the chard stems glowed under the Edgeworthia, like jewels! Here's where I admit I didn't really get the jars of preserves...

The colors were great, continuing the jewel tones, but I wanted to turn them right-side up and read the labels that I knew had to be written on the metal lid, like my grandparents used to do.

I very much did get the mossy tree-slice paver pathway however. I REALLY wanted to take my shoes off and walk across it.

Honorable mention for the largest agave at the show goes to this garden, "More Smiles Per Hour," by Redwood Builders Landscaping.

Which brings us to "The Gardenmaker’s Atelier," by Hello Garden and GMC Landscapes.

"Hello Garden transforms a BC Greenhouse into a botanical couture studio, an imaginative workspace where plants become wearable art, and the garden unfolds like a runway of color and texture. Soft, billowing flowers and cottage-inspired plantings evoke today’s most sought-after gardens, while a trickling waterfall adds movement and serenity. Inside the greenhouse, botanical creations by Françoise Weeks highlight the idea that gardens aren’t just grown—they’re played with, styled, and reinterpreted. Designed for anyone craving a place to escape into creative exploration, the display celebrates the emotional quality of a garden, inviting visitors to linger in the details and rediscover joy in the act of play."

Thank god I snapped photos when I visited the first the evening, because in the daytime lines of people slowly snaked through the greenhouse. 

The featured work of Françoise Weeks was incredible.

Kate (Hello Garden) managed to pull the same feel that Françoise's work inspires throughout the entire greenhouse. 

West Seattle Nursery was back with another hit; "Where Stories Take Root."

"Designed as a small woodland bookshop nestled among trees, ferns, and shade-loving shrubs, “Where Stories Take Root” centers on a cozy reading retreat that blurs the line between structure and landscape. A deck extends over a gently moving pond, where wooden bowls drift and softly knock together, creating a subtle, rhythmic soundtrack. The path wraps around an intimate, sunken seating circle that invites visitors to gather, linger, and read. Whimsical details, like a chandelier crafted from books and sculptural panels that fan pages into floral forms, add layers of storytelling throughout the space."

I loved the moss filled gap in the cobblestones.

As well as the chandelier crafted from books...

And pages fanned into floral forms...

They also nailed the edge where the garden met the Convention Center floor.

I only managed one photo of Wittman Estes "Living Lightly"... "A hovering grated walkway floats above the terrain, revealing the textures of the earth beneath, and guiding visitors to a stone terrace and simple viewing platform."

Next; “Rust and Refinement” from BL Landscapes .. "a study in balance, where rugged textures meet clean lines, elevating the timeless beauty of Northwest plants. Built on strong contrasts between raw and refined, the garden highlights weathered steel in its visual language, celebrated for its warmth and durability in modern landscape design. Arbors, planters, and columns pair with circular forms and a stacked-stone water feature to create an artistic and grounded space."

I loved the curved pathway with the tall rectangular frames and simple bench... but especially the mossy bits at the edges.

I would have loved to see these simple planters filled with something really dramatic and architectural in form, these plantings seemed a little fussy.

Across the pathway...

With the metal pieces I think they could have easily taken the plant drama up a few notches.

Okay, that's it for the big show gardens, I'm closing out with a few shots from the City Living gardens, the smaller displays meant to evoke a balcony sized garden. This one, Verdant Dreams, was by the Plant Farm (a Spokane nursery). I love that cut out wall at the back, brilliant!

Perfect for hanging plants and allowing light and air through while giving a bit of privacy.

This one, "Tranquility" from Sunnyside Nursery. Wow. I was shocked, they put up a solid wall at the back, in all my years of going to this show I don't think I've ever seen that done. They even had a prime spot with a view from the sky bridge down Pike St. towards the Public Market sign! No sense of place here. I did however like the branch over the top of the display.

Last up, a simple blue wall in the "Fifty Shades of Blue," display by Ma Petite Gardens. Actually it's not the blue wall I love, but the branch and the way it supports one of the shelves. Of course I really wanted it to support ALL the shelves, but we can't have everything can we? 

The Bit at the End

If you attended the 2024 Puget Sound Garden Fling you may have met Kate David of Hello Garden. She's the designer of the "The Gardenmaker’s Atelier" garden shown above. She has a YouTube Channel where she shared videos leading up to the build of her show garden, and then even a couple during the crazy three day build. I'm linking to the final one where she wraps it all up and also tours you around the show floor, just in case you're curious and want to see more; here.

—   —   —

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control. 

All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.