Northwest Flower and Garden Show

The weekday crowd at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show (at the Convention Center through Sunday) is a mellow assortment of (mostly gray-haired) gardening devotees. I took a vacation day today so I could join them; anything to avoid the weekend crush of wealthy couples on the prowl to hire the trendiest garden designers in the region.

This year none of the exhibits is particularly memorable or outragous, but several are worth study. For the ecologically conscious, "Feel the Heat," and for the modern garden fan, "Figure and Form in the Garden."

Here are two albums of unedited photos I took. You'll find pictures of the competitions (floral arrangements, container gardens, and full-sized gardens) in Part 1, and highlights of the commercial booths in Part 2. These albums are best viewed by clicking the slideshow icon at the top to see the full-size images.

Highlights of the commercial booths (see the Part 2 photos) include the delightful garden sculpture of Phillip Glashoff and stained-glass patio tables by Karen Seymour (Karen is also selling her new how-to book, with comes complete with CD).

So what did I buy? Afraid it was not very dramatic: One of those 75-foot-long coiled garden hoses for small gardens; a little "noodle" sprinkler; an $8 hellebore to replace the expensive one that (gulp) vanished during the fence renovation project; a tiny $5 Australian bush mint they assured me will be huge by summer; an aluminum extension pruner to prune the top of the pear tree, and Karen's Seymour's stained-glass book (mentioned above). However, I am thinking about buying the recycled metal fence section that appears in the picture of the ReStore booth in the "Part 2" photo album. I took measurements, and will be out in the back yard tomorrow seeing if it will fit. Any opinions?