Postcards from the Puget Sound

I attended the 2024 Garden Fling (formerly known as the Garden Bloggers' Fling) in Puget Sound this month, my first since the Austin Fling in 2018.  It was originally slated for 2021 but the pandemic intervened and the entire Fling schedule was disrupted.  However, I remained committed to attend when it got off the ground at last.

The event with one hundred attendees officially kicked off with a welcome dinner on July 18th and ended on July 21st.  Although a one-day extension to tour selected Seattle gardens was offered, I'd opted out when I reserved my slot back in February and flew home the morning of July 22nd.  Over the course of three packed days, I took nearly a thousand photos.  I've made a preliminary survey of them, discarding those that were obviously not up to snuff, and organizing them by garden, which wasn't easy as in some cases gardens were adjacent to others on the tour and blended into one another in my memory.

This post consists of a largely random collection of photos from some of my favorite gardens on the tour.  It doesn't include photos from all those we saw but it'll provide a taste of posts to come at intervals over the next few months.

Here we go!

Day One (5 gardens, 3 on Vashon Island and 2 on the mainland)

We traveled by ferry to and from Vashon Island, which was an experience in itself.

I took this photo from the ferry as we headed back to the mainland.  That's Mount Rainier in the background.

Some of the Fling crowd on the upper deck

Froggsong Garden (Vashon) 

Froggsong is a 5-acre estate garden sitting within a 17-acre parcel.  It's owners have operated a wedding and events venue for the last 8 years.  This sunny border fronted the house.

This is part of Froggsong's "Hydrangea Walk."  Hydrangeas were seemingly everywhere in the Puget Sound area.  I've little chance of growing them in my climate and haven't even tried to do so in my current garden but views like this left me thinking that maybe I should try one in a large pot.

Gray Garden (mainland)

The owners of this carefully curated garden not only opened their space to a crowd of 100 strangers but also hosted a happy hour with wine.  The back area, shown in part here, has a steep slope that was stabilized using what was described as a rock scree.  The delicately balanced rock structure visible on the upper left was referred to as "Toadhenge." 

Day Two (7 gardens)

Risdahl-Pittman Garden

I loved this garden, described as an "eclectic plant playground" but somehow didn't manage to collect as many photos as I'd have liked.  This one backed up closely to another property we also toured.

A sunny koi pond I believe was part of the same property

Paulsen Garden

Overlooking Orting Valley, with a view of Mount Rainier, this garden is the creation of Camille Paulsen, who was key in organizing the Puget Sound Fling.  Her husband built this Torii gate to adorn an Asian-influenced shade garden.

A quiet pond near a view site

View of Mount Rainier from the garden

Day Three (4 gardens)

Heronswood (former home of famous plantsman, Dan Hinkley, currently owned and operated by the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe)

A Little and Lewis designed "ruin"

Part of the formal gardens adjacent to Hinkley's former home, now used as an office

Flower freak that I am, I couldn't help fixating on the bounty of lilies in full bloom in many of the gardens we visited.  I saw this particular variety in several gardens and I'm obsessed with it but have yet to identify the cultivar.  This one was included in Heronswood's formal garden.

Heckler Garden

This small, relatively shady garden surrounded by huge trees was absolutely packed with plants

One of many attention-grabbing vignettes

Brindley Garden

This garden sits next door to Dan Hinkley's current garden.  The front house and garden immediately drew my attention as my dream of a home in the Pacific Northwest.

A vivid stand of Crocosmia fronting a view of the Salish Sea in the back garden

Windcliff (current home and nursery of Dan Hinkley)

We knew we'd reached Windcliff after shifting our path when Hinkley's dogs suddenly appeared.  This one carried a shoe in his mouth as if daring anyone to take it from him.

View of a section of the back garden decorated with ceramic sculptures created by Dustin Gimbel

A combined walkway and pond with the Salish Sea visible in the background.  Much of Hinkley's bluff side garden was devastated by 2024's extreme winter weather and is currently in the early stages of a complete renovation.

I arrived home mid-afternoon on Monday and fairly quickly got to work on my own garden.  That came to a relative halt on Wednesday when I tested positive for COVID.  I had a preemptive fourth booster shot in early June and wore masks on both flights and in the crowded airport terminal areas but we spent a lot of time on buses yapping on our way to our various stops and at communal meals.  The last I heard there are at least ten confirmed cases of COVID among attendees.  It was unfortunate but I don't regret the trip or the opportunity to see old friends and meet others I've conversed with online for years in person.  My symptoms are mild; I'm taking Paxlovid; and my husband and I've carved up our house into "his" and "her" areas in an effort to keep him virus free.  It's just another warning that COVID is still out there.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.  I should be back to my regular posting schedule next week.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Post-Fling Chores

While making lists in preparation for my trip to the Puget Sound to attend the 2024 Garden Fling, I decided I might as well create one to summarize the tasks awaiting me upon my return.  So here are the projects I've got pending:

1. Checking the status of my cutting garden

The raised planters and barrels will be watered thoroughly before I leave but, if temperatures soar, the automatic drip system may not provide sufficient moisture and, as several dahlias finally have buds, I don't want to risk losing them.  My husband has agreed to monitor the situation when I'm gone but checking its status will happen as soon as I get out of the car.

2. Cutting back the shaggy Agapanthus throughout the garden

The Agapanthus flowered nearly in unison this year and they're rapidly becoming a shaggy mess now.  It'll be "off with their heads!" upon my return.

3. Shearing the dried flowers from Helichrysum 'Icicles'

This Helichrysum is looking scruffy and needs a scalping to remove the dried flowers and to reduce its footprint so it doesn't block the flagstone path.  I'd like to replace it elsewhere in the garden but I still haven't seen the plants for sale in my local garden centers.  I took cuttings in spring but they look pitiful. 

4. Thinning the Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) before it self-seeds everywhere

I thinned all the Mexican feather grass in late spring but they need another good combing

5. Planting new items I was foolish enough to order by mail in July

Annie's Annuals & Perennials had a sale recently and I couldn't help myself.  I managed to pop 3 Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) into a large empty pot where they can probably stay until fall (left).  They're supposed to produce light apricot-colored flowers.  I put my 3 other purchases, an Arctotis 'Ultra Violet', Hardenbergia violacea 'Meema', and Zauschneria cana 'Calistoga Hybrid', in temporary pots until I can clear spaces for them.

6. Laying more mulch to cover bare spots

20 cubic feet of mulch wasn't nearly enough to cover  my bare soil.  I probably need another 20 cubic feet to finish the job properly before summer turns really nasty.

7. Thinning overgrown Aeoniums

I can only walk through the path shown on the left by setting one foot directly in front of the other, like someone taking a DUI test.  The rosettes need to be cut back, or maybe the areas on both sides should be replanted from cuttings - that's TBD.  Other Aeoniums in the lower level of the front garden (right) should be thinned or removed entirely to provide a cleaner profile for the low stacked stone wall. 

8. Uncovering Leonotis leonurus (lion's tail)

This isn't a high priority but the lion's tail could use more sun, which means pruning the massive Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' above it.  I also need to pull more of the Daucus carota plants that are trying to take over the area.

A gardener's job is never done!  Making lists allows me to put aside what needs to be done for a time, while I focus on the Garden Fling.  I'll unroll photos from the Fling at intervals over the coming weeks in between work on my various projects.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend!

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party   

Happy hummingbirds

We're lucky to have both resident and migrating hummingbirds here along the Southern California coast.  Their activity is more noticeable and intense during the summer months when the various species compete vigorously for flower nectar.  As they're moving almost constantly, I find them hard to photograph.  While my brother is something of a hummingbird whisperer, I find that the birds disappear as soon as I walk out the door, although they occasionally sweep over my head when chasing one another.  Luckily, they're currently obsessed with a garden bed outside my home office window so I've had opportunities to catch them with my camera from inside the house.

Hummingbirds occasionally rest, if not for long.  I've noted that they like nectar plants that provide nearby sanctuaries, like trees and large shrubs.  This one sought refuge in either the tree-sized Leucadendron 'Pisa'  it's perched on here or the strawberry tree (Arbutus 'Marina') just a few feet away.

My ability to discern one hummingbird species from another is questionable at best but my best guess is that this is a female or immature male Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)

Here are some action shots:

The red head on this one led me to conclude that this one is an adult male Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna).  Members of this species are year-round residents along the Pacific coast.

When the wings were in motion, I didn't get clear shots.  This one was inspecting the "flowers" of Leucadendron 'Blush'.

This was a poor shot of the wings but look at those feet!

This shot is clearer and my guess is that this is the Allen's hummingbird again.  Based on the sheer number of shots I took, most of which weren't worth saving, the birds' favorite nectar flower in this bed was the Lobelia laxiflora shown here.

Rear shot of what may be the same bird

The bed visible from my home office isn't the only one that attracts a lot of hummingbird activity but it pulls in visitors on a steady basis.

View of the bed from one angle

This angle gives a better view of the plants providing nectar

They favor certain flowers in this area.

Agapanthus - I saw the birds feeding on these white Agapanthus nearby but I couldn't manage a good shot from inside my office

Arbutus 'Marina' - In addition to seeking shelter within the branches of the strawberry tree, the bird's also sought out the tree's flowers as another source of nectar but they were too well camouflaged to provide me with good photos

Lantana camara - They regularly fed on the bed's Lantana 'Irene'

Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi'  - The flowers are almost gone now but were previously of interest

Lobelia laxiflora  - This was their favorite source of nectar and the basis for numerous battles

Elsewhere in the garden I've observed a particular appreciation for other plants like these:

Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid'  - The flowers were already drying up and losing their peach-pink color when I took this photo in June but, at its floral peak, this shrub was another focus of fierce battles

All Cupheas, including these Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' are hummingbird magnets

Grevillea 'Superb' - With its year-round crop of flowers and Cuphea at its base, this large shrub is a major draw for hummingbirds in my front garden.  The Magnolia tree behind it provides a safe spot to rest between battles too.

Do you have hummingbirds in your garden?  Which plants do they favor?

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Just one

I usually create more than one floral arrangement for "In a Vase on Monday," the popular meme hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.  My decision to limit myself this week wasn't due to a shortage of blooms, although many are starting to look scruffy as summer progresses.  It has more to do with the fact that we're in the middle of an unplanned effort to replace all the remaining copper water pipes inside our house.  The plumbers' role in the process was mostly completed last week but there are holes in the walls of four rooms, a hallway, and a closet that need to be repaired and painted before everything currently strewn elsewhere in the house and garage can be moved back into place.  Meanwhile, I'm preparing to head off on a five-day trip, booked six months ago, leaving my husband with a mess.  And, on Saturday, the trauma rippling through the US as the result of an attempted assassination of a presidential candidate increased my tension.  Although the candidate isn't one I support and has himself manipulated political divisions within the country, the action by yet another gun-happy murderer is repulsive and just heightens emotions.  We can only hope that people on both sides of the political spectrum, as well as those commenting on the divide via mainstream and social media, tone down the rhetoric and focus on the substance of their differences.

With my attention jumping from one issue to another, this is what I came up with this week.

The unexpected appearance of a Hippeastrum simplified the selection process

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Grevillea 'Superb', Hippeastrum 'Dancing Queen', Leucanthemum x superbum, Tanacetum parthenium, and Xylosma congestum

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

With the house and most of my usual vase spots a mess until the construction crew can install new drywall and paint, the arrangement ended up on the kitchen island

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party