Bonney Lassie: On The Beach at the NWFGS

Another favorite display garden at this year's Northwest Flower and Garden Show was entitled "A Pacific Northwest Beach Garden: It's Never Too Late to Learn to Dance." It takes its inspiration from the movie Zorba The Greek (which I have never seen). This garden was designed by Susan Calhoun of Plantswoman Design, Inc.

Their handout says "The garden Plantswoman Design has created for you is a small glimpse into the ways we can bring the beach home to everyone whether you live by the water or not. Our hardscape consists of gravel, reclaimed driftwood, landscape boulders and natural stone pavers that lay the foundation for this beach getaway. Unusual pants can be found in every nook and cranny from the edges of the rocks and driftwood to the forest edge behind the beach shack. Soft grasses mixed with fragrant blossoms that thrive in sun or shade surround the dancing area. Seasonal color along with foliage texture and contrast adds visual interest."

I liked that this garden was a walk-through design. The audience was invited to walk through the garden, past the beach shack, although not to step onto the grassy area. The garden, unfortunately, did not benefit from being on its own on the show floor. I noticed that other gardens were able to, in some cases, borrow neighboring foliage. The beach shack would have looked much better with more of a foliage screen behind it, separating it from the marketplace that was directly adjacent to it, or perhaps a fence or some other kind of structure. But it had a lot of lovely touches, such as the driftwood and the scattered beach glass, pebbles and shells, as well as two colorful, drippy fountains.