Day Well Spent...

As if I didn't have enough going on in my semi-crazy-busy life,
I was recently approached about taking on a new adventure...
and it involves two of my favorite things:
plants and people.
(I'll share more later as details emerge)
A definite perk to this new project was getting to attend the
Seattle Flower and Garden Show
in Seattle last Friday.
I called up one of the sweetest lady's I know and asked her to join me for a day of
flowers, vegetables, plant seminars, display gardens and inspiration.
(essentially a tease of spring but inside a giant convention center...
which is good because I think the high for last Friday was 32').

I took a lot of random photos of anything that interested me and caught my eye.
Here are a few of my favorite plants that I saw.

This particular is a Sedum and is called
'Baby Tears."
I love how dainty 'she' is and 'her' fresh green color really drew my attention in the display that she was in.

This plant is also a part of the Sedum family...
and while the other was small and dainty,
this one was monstrous and mammoth.
It was about 4 1/2 feet tall.

This was an incredible, white wisteria tree...
and while this picture does not do it justice,
mark my word, it was I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E!!

Oh, and I think I have yet to share that the majority of my favorite plants almost always have white flowers.
I love the contrast that white flowers have against whatever shade green their foliage is...
they really stand out in a garden.

On the contrary, this one is a hellebore and was such a deep purple it was almost black on the underside

(which, if you're familiar with hellebores, you know that the underside is their 'face')

And they bloom in the late winter providing a much needed notion that spring is on it's way.

This is a tiny, little fairy garden display that a local nursery had created.
How cute is that?

Oh, and the plant on the right hand side of the garden is a
"Baby Tears."
Sure do love that chartreuse color.

Now among having a vast array of unique and beautiful plants,
there was also some very fun and creative gifts to purchase.

I instantly fell in love with these little goats.
They are about as cute as they get...
but at $35 a piece, I just couldn't do it...
but they were C.U.T.E.

Again, forgive me for this not being the best of pictures, but you get the idea.
They are 'turtle tables.'The theme of this years show and display gardens was a
Storybook theme.
These tables were a part of the
"Wind and the Willows" garden...
as were these hand-blown cattails.One of my favorite booths was this man's:

He is the designer and builder of the most amazing and one-of-a-kind
outbuildings.
This, for instance, is one of his chicken-coops.
Only problem:
it cost over $3200.00

Worth every penny if you've got the cash...
only problem...
I DON'T!
{this sold within the first hour of the show's opening}

But it IS right up my alley,
and I DO have a crafty hubb.
Needless to say, I am now on the lookout for
dilapidated barns that need to be torn down
so that we can design and build our own.

He also created and built these fun 'cold frames,'
which is a great way to start your plants early and protect them from the frost and crazy winter weather.

This building was a part of another display nursery;
Christianson's Nursery
(I'll be visiting soon).I am amazed that they build these displays,
only to be deconstructed a few days later after the show is over.
I {LOVE} this bike!!!
Especially since it has their delivery service advertised on it.

Another great and original idea that I was drawn to was this
'retired' shipping crate 'reinvented' into a potting shed/playhouse.

Do you love it?

I DO!!!
But I already have a potting shed that I love...
so maybe someday.

I did good and resisted almost all of my spending temptations...
with a few exceptions.

THIS!!
I do love me some peonies!
And look...
it's white to boot.It'll be a few seasons before she actually blooms,
but it will be SO WORTH THE WAIT.
In the mean time,
I bought this cute little primrose to set on my mantle.
We need a little spring in our home.

And look at all of the blooms coming...

A part of my attending the show was to listen to a few different seminars in a variety of different topics.
I think I sat through 6 of them...
5 of them were FANTASTIC
and I took LOTS AND LOTS OF NOTES!

Now I must get to organizing them :-)
I am eager to start this new project and I am really looking forward to meeting some new people in the process. I am also {beyond} eager to get into my own garden and flower beds and utilize some of the new techniques and ideas that I learned.
***Actually, I spent a few hours yesterday in my front flower beds,
cleaning them up.
rearranging them,
planting my new peony
and daydreaming of warmer, sunny days to come***
{did I mention it was raining yesterday while I was out there...I must be desperate for spring}