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.
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I took this photo from the ferry as we headed back to the mainland. That's Mount Rainier in the background. |
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Some of the Fling crowd on the upper deck |
Froggsong Garden (Vashon)
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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. |
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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)
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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
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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. |
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A sunny koi pond I believe was part of the same property |
Paulsen Garden
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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. |
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A quiet pond near a view site |
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View of Mount Rainier from the garden |
Day Three (4 gardens)
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A Little and Lewis designed "ruin" |
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Part of the formal gardens adjacent to Hinkley's former home, now used as an office |
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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
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This small, relatively shady garden surrounded by huge trees was absolutely packed with plants |
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One of many attention-grabbing vignettes |
Brindley Garden
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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. |
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A vivid stand of Crocosmia fronting a view of the Salish Sea in the back garden |
Windcliff (current home and nursery of Dan Hinkley)
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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. |
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View of a section of the back garden decorated with ceramic sculptures created by Dustin Gimbel |
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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
Lovely photos, leaving a taste for more.
ReplyDeleteI've returned from a 2 week jaunt to south west England where some in our group succumbed to covid as well. Although covid is still around, for vaccinated and boosted folks it is thankfully a milder experience these days.
I hope you found your garden in a satisfactory condition, your husband stays covid free and you are quickly recovered!
Chavli
I'm glad you managed to avoid Covid on your trip, Chavli! Even recently boosted with another vaccine shot and wearing masks on airplane flights, the virus is apparently ready to take any advantage it gets to hop on board. I suspect it loves buses...
DeleteWith the exception of my cutting garden, much of my garden is headed into its round with the summer doldrums. Our morning marine layer is gone for all practical purposes and temperatures are climbing, although we're still not experiencing the kind of heat afflicting the inland valleys. I lost a large Leucadendron but then it'd already shown that it was on the way out before I left.
Oh man, I worried about that - luckily didn't catch anything. I hope you feel better quickly and your husband stays virus free.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you avoided Covid, Tracy! So far, so good with my husband - he tested for Covid before a dental appointment yesterday. I'm 4 doses into the Paxlovid and still waiting for it to do its magic.
DeleteI've made it a priority to get my photos divided up into named files before my memory gets any foggier... so many gardens, so many photos! I do hope you're feeling better.
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, I realized that I should've at least created a "stop sign" at the end of each series of photos given that I didn't have a way of downloading them into batches until I returned home. Lesson learned.
DeleteCovid is a trial but then I'm an grumpy patient. I don't think I've even had a cold in the last 10 years so being ill is beyond annoying...
I almost went but backed out. I've seen at least three of the gardens though. Sorry to hear about the Covid. I'm got my first international trip planned later this year and I guess that is something else I can worry about.
ReplyDeleteMasking on plane flights is an easy precaution, even if relatively few people seem to be doing that, Phillip. It's more difficult in direct social situations involving groups of significant size within other enclosed spaces. Hopefully, by the time of your trip, there'll be a vaccine booster attuned to the new FLiRT variant.
DeleteCovid?!? Oh , yikes!!!!!! Sorry you are ill--I hope you are well again very soon. My sister's partner had it about a month ago but despite him taking zero precautions around her (to her annoyance), she never caught it. He was fine again in about a week.
ReplyDeleteNo symptoms here (so far). Alan and I got boosted 6 weeks before the trip in hopes of having maximum protection, and we masked up on the airplane both ways--so maybe we got lucky. I was concerned on the bus when the A/C was off--it was sooooo stuffy.
Take care, rest, rest, get well!
I'm glad you and Alan avoided Covid, Gail! I got a booster in June myself and also masked up on both plane flights but then, with all the repiping work turmoil in the immediate period leading up to the trip, I was sleep-deprived and worn-down, which may have made me more vulnerable. It seems that quite a few cases have surfaced since the Fling ended.
DeleteI got home on Thursday and was watering before I unpacked my car all the way. We had some heat here while I was gone which apparently was just fine with the weeds. I should have done some heavy mulching before I left. I hope you are feeling better by now. !
ReplyDeleteMy husband was monitoring the moisture levels in my cutting garden and a couple other areas while I was gone but, as the temperature zoomed above 90F the day I returned, I started watering late that afternoon. Covid seems to have an arc - I hope I'm over the peak of it now but I'm guessing it'll be another week before I'm feeling normal again.
DeleteBeautiful examples. That koi pond area is lovely. And the Lilies are stunning! I'll look forward to more coverage of the Fling. I'm so sorry I had to miss this year. Get well soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth. I'm sorry we missed an opportunity to meet in person!
DeleteI had a blast in spite of the unfortunate ending. Can't wait to see your photos and read your posts.
ReplyDeleteNasty as this Covid episode is, I'm glad I joined in. It was great to see you again, Gerhard.
DeleteSuch a beautiful area for a Garden Fling, Rainier is quite the backdrop!
ReplyDeleteDespite your precautions, Covid snuck up on you, darn. Glad it isn't a bad case and hopefully, you're feeling better. Take the rest you need in the next few weeks! Eliza
Patience isn't one of my virtues, Eliza. I've been sneaking at least a little time to work in the garden each day despite getting the stink-eye from my husband.
DeleteKris, it was wonderful to see you again at the Fling. Wasn't it a remarkable tour? SO many gardens - and photographs taken of them. I hope you're over the hump on covid now and back at play in your own garden.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to see you too, Pam! I tested negative for Covid yesterday after completing a 10 dose course of Paxlovid and I'm feeling okay at the moment. I put close to 3 hours of work into my garden this morning but I think that's going to have to be it for today!
DeleteIt was so good to finally meet you - can't believe that you were at the Austin Fling and I didn't even realize! All of the gardens were amazing and you've definitely captured the essence of the Fling. It's been a few days since you've posted and I'm hoping that you are now recovered and back in the garden :)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I've relapsed, Margaret. It's apparently the result of the infamous Paxlovid rebound. I'm trying to behave myself now, resting much more than I did in round one ;)
DeleteI couldn't remember if you were one of the unfortunate 10 that got covid at the Fling and didn't want to rescroll through the Signal app to remind myself. Very sorry to hear about the relapse. I am still going to try and get out tomorrow morning to water a few of the most vulnerable plants and assess the damage, but after that I am indoors and back in bed! Feel better soon. I still haven't organized my photos - hoping to use the gps data automatically taken with each photo when my memory fizzles out. Good idea to get them into separate folders NOW! I am relying on everyone else to have taken better GlamourShots than I was able to. My photos of the fling are ho-hum, but still going to do Fling posts anyway. Ok, this time I really AM going to bed.
ReplyDeleteI was never linked to Signal. I had no WiFi connection when inside the hotel so I didn't even try to connect there so, what news I got came through email messages. I'm sorry to hear that you ended up with Covid too. Paxlovid did the trick at first but now I seem to be going through the disease's stages all over again. Rest is probably the key. I'm trying harder to do that too. Fingers crossed that we're all over this crap soon!
DeleteHope you are over the second round by now. Disappointing end to your Fling.
ReplyDeleteNot something I'd hoped for, that's for sure. I still don't regret the trip, though.
Delete