Carhart Garden - Puget Sound Garden Fling (Day 1)

The first garden we visited on Day 1 of the Puget Sound Garden Fling was Carhart Garden on Vashon Island.  We reached the three acre property surrounded by a fifteen acre forest overlooking Quartermaster Harbor by bus after a relatively short ferry ride across the Sound.  The largely shaded, woodland area was steeply sloped.  Whit and Mary Carhart were available to act as guides and answer questions.  

With numerous others, I walked up and through the gate before wandering gradually downward along a woodland path, framed here and there by shallow wood-rimmed steps covered with wood chips.

The intricate gate featured birds resting on branches

One of many pieces of art we saw as we moved along

 

A cautionary sign directing visitors to pay attention when walking the sloped terrain

With trees looming above us, we walked carefully, focusing on both the woodland scenery and the plant vignettes on both sides of the path.

Although I love woodland settings, many of the plants were foreign to me and I quickly decided not to make myself crazy trying to identify them

Plant vignettes relied heavily on differences in texture and shape with only occasional touches of floral color like that provided by the hosta in this photo

As I was to learn during the course of the Fling, hydrangeas are very much part of the summer show in the Puget Sound

Visible from the path we walked, this was the first of several seating areas the garden offered

In addition to rock, the owners made good use of wood from fallen or cut trees to create planting areas

Along the woodland walk, a few plants in addition to hostas and hydrangeas added color.  My phone app provided alternative identifications of the plant on the left, which I initially took for Inula helenium but it's probably Telekia speciosa.  The plant on the right is Spigelia.

Seen from above, we spotted a pool below

I guessed that these raised planters were used as nursery stations for infant plants before they were planted out

This photo of a stylized garden shed, the first structural element I saw, doesn't do it justice

As we reached the lower level of the garden I got a peek at the harbor area through the trees.

Colorful chairs situated on a patch of lawn provided another opportunity to sit with a view of the Quartermaster Harbor just behind it

Sunny patches in parts of the garden allowed flowers to flaunt their colors.

There was even a meadow of flowers

There were more structures in this area, as we grew closer to the owners' home,

No shortage of wood here!  Note the view of the garden shed in the background on the upper left.

This colorful playhouse stood out.  On the right, note that the sign alongside the door says "go away."  However, viewed from its reverse side, it said "welcome."

The owner's residence was visibly nestled into the larger garden

A relatively sunny seating area on one side of the house

Attractive containers edging another side of the house

This art display, attributed to Zimbabwean sculptor Dominic Benhura, consists of 4 playful figures (although this photo only captures 2 of them)

Flowers growing close to the house included Astilbe, Astrantia, and Crocosmia

There were more seating areas in this area of the garden too.

On the way back up the slope, I got a closer look at the pool area.

In one area, the cement-line pool was said to be 8 feet deep, providing room to swim

Water collected from an area at the top of the property flowed gently down into the pool via this rock-filled stream

Even the stream included artistic touches

This gazebo overlooking the stream provided a comfortable place to rest.  Denise of A Growing Obsession took advantage of it for a short time.

We had a little over an hour at Carhart Garden but even that wasn't enough to fully explore the property, which felt a lot larger than three acres to me!  But on a tour as packed with gardens like the Fling, time is precious and sacrifices must be made.  Onward!

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

In a Vase on Monday: Catching up for lost time

Isn't it odd that even a five day absence seems like a dereliction of duty when it comes to one's garden?  As my July 19th post indicated, I had plans to tackle several jobs quickly upon my return from the Puget Sound Garden Fling.  I even had delusions of creating a late "In a Vase on Monday" post after snapping a few photos of an arrangement I'd hastily put together for the contractor who directed the replacement of our water pipes and the related repairs to our walls - or really his wife, who'd just had surgery.  I'd handled most of my garden's immediate watering needs and tidied up a few areas before general fatigue and then a positive COVID test put a crimp on all my plans early Wednesday morning.  Defying my symptoms and ignoring disapproving looks from my husband, I've put in an hour here and there since Wednesday but I can't claim I've accomplished much; however, I did cut flowers for IAVOM early Sunday morning when temperatures were comfortable.

I'd identified what appears to be the last of my lilies as a starting point.  The bloom stalk proved to be past its prime but I used its one presentable flower as my centerpiece.  Luckily, my dahlias are finally stepping up to fill the gaps in my garden's supply of flowers as summer temperatures wither the blooms that were prominent just two weeks ago.

The lily is 'Pretty Woman', which for some reason is pure white this year without the pink blush it's produced in prior years.  I paired it with the purple and white flowers of Dahlia 'Vancouver', the only dahlia I purchased "off the rack" from local garden center this year.  I cut all the blooms it came with immediately after purchase and it's coming out swinging with a fresh flush of blooms now.

Back view: I filled out the vase with stems of one of the few remaining foxgloves in my garden

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Vancouver', Orienpet Lilium 'Pretty Woman', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Monarda hybrid 'Peter's Purple'

I filled a second collection bottle with an assortment of other flowers and foliage, originally planning to fold everything into a single second arrangement.  After some futzing, I decided I preferred to break them up into three (!!!) smaller, more carefully coordinated mixes.

The first of these centered on a single bloom of Dahlia 'Summer's End'.

I purchased a single Dahlia 'Summer's End' tuber in 2021 and it's performed well every year since.  It's a "waterlily" type.

Back view: I got lucky with a fresh flush of flowers from Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' which appeared seemingly overnight to offer the perfect accent

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Dahlia 'Summer's End', and Tanacetum parthenium

The next arrangement is even simpler, including just three elements.

Clockwise from the upper left: front and overhead views of the arrangement, Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Dahlia 'Creme de Cognac', and Daucus carota 'Dara'

The last remnants of the morning cuttings went into a third vase, which sits on the desk in my home office.

The vase contains the first flower of Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', Tanacetum parthenium, and seedheads of Helichrysum 'Icicles'

For more floral and foliage creations visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, who leads the merry band of IAVOM contributors.

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

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