BLOOMTOWN

Go By Train! ... to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show

"Go By Train" indeed! At the moment it seems a distant memory, with spring weather now well under way, but a couple of weeks ago, I was planning to drive to Seattle with my friend, Erin for our annual trek to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, but severe weather and snowstorms were forecasted that threatened to muck up travel up and down I-5. So at the last minute, we booked a couple of seats on Amtrak.

As it turned out, we saw very little snow from the cozy interior of the train, but it was nice to know that there was at least some snow here and there, in order to justify our trepidation for traveling by car.

I know, I know, a lot of people take the train to the show every year, so it's not a new idea, but it was a first for me, and I have to say that I'm a convert. Even though my friend is usually the driver, I found this to be such a comfortable and relaxing way to go. Very spacious. Free WiFi. Coffee, drinks and snacks. The only downside was that it forced us to be pretty careful about our purchases once we got to the show, because we had to figure out how to get everything home. In the big scheme of things, having some discipline imposed can be a good thing, at least for my pocketbook. I did still manage to shop -- bulbs, tubers and bare root plants pack quite nicely in a suitcase!

On the way up we took the Cascades route, opting to travel in the more spacious business class for a slight up-charge. On the return leg, we took the Coast Starlight to Portland. It's an especially pleasant ride in the observation car -- light, bright and airy. After a late lunch and a glass of wine in the dining car, voila! we're home.

All in all a great way to go  -- I'll definitely consider doing it again next year. 

Roxborough State Park, Colorado

The fabulous rock formations at Roxborough State Park were within easy drive of our base-of-operations in Denver. We kept our hike pretty short ... it's pretty hot here today.

  

Mount Goliath, Colorado

  

My first trip to the Rocky Mountains! What a thrill to be in such a breathtakingly beautiful place. We were fortunate to have ideal weather for the day. The wildflowers were out in abundance; many different species were in bloom. The show was still going strong at the higher elevation of Mount Goliath -- we were hiking at around 12,000 feet. When we visited Roxborough State Park the next day the wildflower show was much more subdued; peak bloom long past, largely due to higher temps at the lower elevation. (See photos of Roxborough in my next post.) 

The contorted sinuous shapes of the ancient bristlecone pines are wonderful to behold.

Denver Botanic Garden

Had a nice visit to the Denver Botanic Garden today.

I' m told that Denver's having an unseasonably warm July but I have to say, these gardens really show well in the heat. Here's a couple of quick photos ... more to come.

 

Back home, but buried ...

I’ve been able to hold onto my vacation-buzz so far. I’m working on catching up with things now, and will begin figuring out how to best post about my recent trip touring gardens in the Philadelphia area soon.

I took about 1800 photos, so it’s going to take a bit to process them, and then figure out how to best share some of them with you. But I promise to get at least a few "teasers" up soon!

Philly, here I come!

Philly here I come!

Well, sorta.

First let me say -- I really do have an exciting week in store. I’ll be spending the next five days touring gardens in the Philadelphia area with fellow members of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (HPSO).

At the moment though, I am being reminded of why I don’t love to travel.

First, up at 4:15 am for an inhumanely early flight. This after a grueling marathon-of-a-day on Friday spent trying to wrap things up so that I could sign out for the week. First leg of the flight -- no problem. But then we got stuck on the tarmac for hours in Chicago and we’re only just now in transit. Consequently I will be arriving many hours late and will be missing this evening’s kick-off event held in, what I am sure will be, alovely private garden of a Hardy Plant Society member from the Mid-Atl antic Group.

Wah, wah, wah. Enough already; I am on my way to tour gardens fer chrissakes.

Tomorrow promises to be a much better day. We’ll see five gardens tomorrow and from what I’ve heard, they’re going to be worth the trip. J

Don’t know what the week will bring in terms of me having time to do posts while I am here. I hope to at least slap a few photos & comments up. We’ll see, stay tuned.

I’m sure I’ll be taking tons of photos and I promise to share some of the best here.

Connie Hansen Garden in Lincoln City, Oregon

Whenever we find ourselves on the central coast for more than a day or two I am often able to I cajole my husband into indulging me with a trip to the Connie Hansen Garden in Lincoln City. And they make it very, very easy to work in a visit – the garden is open dawn to dusk, every day. And while there is no admission charge, donations are greatly appreciated.

I don’t think I’ve ever visited this garden in late spring when it is purported to be at its peak. I’m sure it’s a veritable hort-riot heralding spring; the garden’s well-known collection of rhododendrons leading the charge, flanked by iris, primula, and hundreds of other flowering shrubs & perennials.

Alas, it seems I’m frequently visiting gardens in the off-season. An occupational hazard for those of us working in the garden biz I guess, as I’m often too busy during peak season to do as much garden touring as I’d like. Perhaps this is why I’ve developed such a fondness and appreciation for winter gardens. The starkness of winter reveals the garden’s details and allows us to celebrate the nuanced beauty of plants in all their forms.

In addition to this winter’s day visit, I have been here in fall more than once and have always found scenes to appreciate.

The garden was built over several decades by Connie Hansen, an avid gardener and artist, after she moved to this coastal town in the early seventies. At this time, the garden is run by The Connie Hansen Garden Conservancy, a non-profit group committed to preserving this garden and sharing it with the public.

Today there were a number of volunteers at work in the garden even though it was bitter cold. Hardy group that.

Morning moon over the ocean

We've had a chance to spend a couple of days at Rockaway Beach, Oregon. The weather has been sunny & clear, but cold.