Peter
The Outlaw Gardener and I have been honorary Portland Bloggers for a couple of years now, I think, and have been to a handful of their twice yearly plant exchanges. I have a number of plants thriving in my garden that I never would have considered growing, thanks to these exchanges and the very friendly and knowledgeable bloggers who attend them. This fall, Peter and I decided to offer to host the exchange up here in Washington. We were originally planning to meet at my garden for lunch and to exchange plants, and then head over to Peter's for dessert and to check out his fabulous garden. But because of the construction going on at his place, turning his garage into a greenhouse, Peter had to bow out of the hosting duties.
Fortunately, he still showed up to be supportive, because this was the first get-together I have hosted in years, and except for Peter (and Nigel, of course), no other gardeners have seen my garden. It was both exciting and scary! I was a bit torn about my duties as garden host -- I could do the Vanna White thing and parade around the garden, pointing out the best parts, or I could just let people take it in on their own. Fortunately, I opted for letting them make the rounds on their own. I would have ended up apologizing for its shortcomings (or what I perceive as its shortcomings), and that just wouldn't do. I put Nigel in charge of taking photos and he did a great job!
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| Peter checking out the old cello that Laura brought for him. It's no longer useful as an instrument, and a friend or neighbor was throwing it out! |
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| Peter chats with Linda and her husband Tom |
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| Tom and Linda contemplate trying a new-to-them kind of Digitalis |
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| Bloggers contemplate the offerings of Ricki (Sprig to Twig) which Loree kindly brought up for her. They do all rather look like they expect the plants to attack at any moment. Either that, or it's ready, set, grab! |
It was great to have so many bloggers all gathered together here in my garden. I had a blast, and I hope they did too!
