Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Monday, February 12, 2018

City Living Displays

I've commented before in my blog that I like the smaller, more intimate displays of the City Living patio gardens at the Northwest Flower and Garden (ok, sigh) Festival. Here are a few that appealed the most to me.

30th Anniversary Pearls
GH Horticulture
Designer: Grace Hensley

You may be surprised to find that I liked this display. I don't have the ability to edit or restrict myself in my own garden, but I can recognize the appeal of elegance and simplicity. I sometimes wish I could stick with a restricted color palette, or a limited list of plants. I'm not sure what it is within me that makes me want to add more, more, more. Acquisitional greed? An unbalanced mind? The desire to just be chaotic?


My own house is gray, although a less bluey-gray than this

I really like those black containers


The display includes a little mouse door, a la Spielberg's film An American Tail, as well as an unclaimed Amazon package


Set The Mood
Happenstantials
Designer: Chance Justbe

This is more my style, right? I overheard the designer describing to someone how he found the child's jungle gym and knew he could turn it into something. Doesn't it make a great gargantuan Papasan chair? As I was eavesdropping on Chance, a woman next to me said, "The only thing I like here is the little rug." I turned to her and said, "Oh? I like everything else!" To her credit, she then said, "Well, I guess between us, we've got this one covered."


It's pretty cool to repurpose a piece of play equipment like this -- I love the idea of repurposing, but I often lack the creativity required

I have a feeling if this were in my garden it would have fewer cushions and more vines crawling all over it -- but I adore it!

Chance made all the Kokedama adorning the display and salvaged the mossy branches that he weaved into the chair

More Kokedama -- Chance taught a class on making them on the DIY stage on Friday afternoon


Love the mossy mushroom!

Not sure what those caterpillar-looking things are, but I love this trio of containers too

The hand holding a severed finger is after my own heart -- which could get messy

He invited me into the display to try to take a shot that showed the Pike Place Market sign through the hands, but I couldn't get my iPhone camera to focus



Plenty of Room
Sky Nursery
Designers: Ashley Bougie, Gina Jones, Kathryn Neumann, Jill Nunemaker

This whimsical display had an Alice in Wonderland theme, which also appealed to me. My first name is Alison, and more than once, ok, many, many times in my life, people have mistaken it for Alice, and immediately called me "Alice in Wonderland" -- to my extreme annoyance. The older I get, the less annoyed I get -- it's not worth it. From now on, I'm just going to own it. Yes, I'm Alison Wonderland.


I've been on the hunt lately for a big old vintage birdcage with a stand



Nice collage

The dormouse is a sweet touch

Blooming Edgeworthia chrysantha

Love the curly branches with teacups hanging


Shouldn't that rabbit be wearing a waistcoat?

Are there butterflies in Alice in Wonderland? I've never read it.

I know they used flamingos to play croquet



Bohemian Rhapsody
Nature's Tapestry Landscapes
Designer: Tracey Kosenski

There were elements here that I liked, although -- and I can't explain why -- it kind of screams retirement home to me. I don't know any retirement homes that serve gin and tonic to their inmates, though. Perhaps it's that I associate drinking alcohol with adults -- I still refuse to become one.


Maybe it's the macrame plant hanger and the stair stepped plant holder


Old planted suitcases are fun, I have one made of wicker on my own back porch, full of little treasures

I want that blue bottle -- you can keep the contents though

Did anything in these City Living displays strike your fancy?