Fleurs de Villes at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival - #Seattle

Have you ever seen a dress made completely out of plants and flowers? The recent garden show featured these gorgeous "flowers of the cities" creations by Seattle florists. They remind me of Rose Bowl Parade floats but with mannequins! (Click on photos for a closer look.)

I hope you enjoyed the floral fashion show!

More info: Fleurs de Ville

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

2020 Northwest Flower & Garden Show - #Seattle

Every year the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle is the site of a magnificent flower and garden show. For the past four years the show's exhibits have sparked my imagination. "Hill Top Farm" by Christianson's Nursery & Greenhouse was one of my favorite displays from February 27, 2020.
(Click on photos to enlarge.)

The online description says:
The two-time “Best in Show” winner Christianson’s Nursery takes you to a farmhouse garden in the English countryside with this floral and fragrant display. As seasoned veterans in restoring buildings and greenhouses at their home base in Mount Vernon, Washington, it’s clear their expertise carries over to this garden. Spot the antique tools and lighting that harkens back to the 1920’s, which might make you feel like you’re in the middle of an orchard taking a breath of fresh air. Using perennials and plants adaptive to the Pacific Northwest, this garden features vegetables, peonies, lilacs, iris, rhododendron and azaleas, among other plants surrounding the farmhouse facade.

A chicken coop, complete with two real birds, added to the realistic design of this full-sized facade.

Many displays included labels that identified the plants. Dry ice in this water feature added a little drama to this scene.

I'd love to enjoy the soothing sound of this waterfall in my own back yard. This display was called "The Gateway to Your Getaway."

If I had this pool in my backyard, I'd never leave it.

A little whimsy!

I'll feature more garden show photos soon. In the meantime, here's the link for more info:
2020 Northwest Flower & Garden Show

If you're interested in photos from last year's show, link HERE and HERE.

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

Flowers, Berries, and More

When hiking or walking in the woods, it's fun to slow down and look at what's blooming on the side of the trail. Here's what I saw at Federation Forest State Park, Washington State, this past week. Sorry I can't identify all the plants. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The trails were wide and easy for the
walking group to traverse.

These tiny white flowers brightened the path.

Foxgloves bloomed near the visitors' center and all along the highway

These unusual plants go by several names:
Indian pipe, ghost plant, or corpse plant.
They were between 4 and 6 inches tall.

These berries glowed like rubies in the shade
beneath the tall trees.

We saw quite a few mushrooms and toadstools.

Thistle

Cedar (left) and Douglas fir (right)

View from our picnic spot along the White River.
The river gets its milky color from glacial run-off from Mt. Rainier.

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

Volunteer Park Conservatory, #Seattle - Saturday Snapshot, Jo's Monday Walk, & Our World Tuesday

There's nothing quite like a cool, sunny day to enjoy the beauty of Seattle's spring. After walking from the Arboretum to Volunteer Park, I visited the Conservatory for the first time. Here are a few photos from that excursion.

According to the conservatory website, the original structure was constructed in the 1920s but had fallen into disrepair and been condemned. After twenty years of work, the restored Victorian-inspired greenhouse was completed in 2014. 

Here are a few of the many plants inside. Some of these seem to be Christmas cactus, or at least relatives of that plant.

A room full of hydrangeas, ferns, lilies, and more.

A few of the many plants in the orchid collection.

I'm not sure what this is, but it reminds me of an anthurium. 

More info about the Volunteer Park Conservatory HERE.

NOTE: I also took this hike in 2016. The link to photos from that outing is HERE.

Here's a map of our walk. This isn't the exact route we took from the Arboretum to Volunteer Park, because we detoured through more green space. We had a picnic at Volunteer Park, then walked back to the Arboretum. Our route covered about six miles round trip. As you can see from the map, there are miles of trails to explore within the Arboretum. The springtime blooms of azaleas, rhododendrons, bulbs, and trees are spectacular.

I'm linked with:

Jo's Monday Walk -  Johanna at Restless Jo - Link HERE

Our World Tuesday - Link HERE

Saturday Snapshot - Melinda at A Web of Stories - Link HERE 

#Northwest Flower & Garden Festival - Saturday Snapshot

It's been several years since I've attended the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, so I jumped at the chance to go this past week. The indoor festival is held at the Washington State Convention Center. This year's theme was "Gardens of the World," and the displays were amazing. I always wonder how the landscapers are able to create these beautiful scenes indoors with everything blooming to perfection. Waterfalls, too! Here are a few of the dozens of photos I took.
(Click on photos to enlarge.)

This display was named "Notting Hill Modern English Garden."
The plants were all green and white, and the waterfall adds soothing sound.
The orbs lining the walkway are stainless steel. 

"Alpenhaus - Switzerland and Germany"

"Escape to the Mountains" - influenced by the landscaper's work
on both sides of the Cascades Mountains, Washington State, US.

"Shalimar"

I'm not 100% certain, but I think this display is
"Fakeation - Create Your Destination."
That's a solar-powered stove on the left of the walkway.

"Mystic Garden" drew me in through its moon gate entrance.
This was my favorite display.

More info about the garden festival HERE.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at A Web of Stories.
To join in or view photos from around the world:
Post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken, then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the website
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A Memory of Violets - First Paragraph / First Chapter / Tuesday Intros and #TeaserTuesday

I enjoyed this novel about orphaned flower sellers in 1870s London (remember Eliza Doolittle?) with a second plot that takes place in 1912. The author's descriptions were beautiful, the plots held my attention, and I cared about the characters. Her depiction of the grim life of impoverished children in London during that time was vivid and must have been the result of extensive research. The only slight complaint I have is that some aspects of the story were a little too coincidental to be believable to me. Are you bothered by coincidences?

Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Length: 386 Pages
Amazon Link: A Memory of Violets
Author Website: Hazel Gaynor

First Paragraph:
     Mammy once told me that all flowers are beautiful, but some are more beautiful than others. "Same with babies," she said, 'cause I was after saying that little baby Rosie looked like a rotten old turnip, what with her face all purple and scrunched up. "All babies look like rotten old turnips at first," Mammy said. "She'll be all smoothed out by Lady Day. You wait and see."
     She was, too. All smoothed out. After turning into a real pretty little thing she was then, 'specially with that hair. Red as the flames in the costers' smudge-pot fires.

Teaser (from Page 162 in the paperback):
In the north, nobody would know anything about them. In the north, they could be whoever they wanted to be and, perhaps, if they were farther away from London, farther away from the memories, Violette might forget about her sister.

Synopsis from Amazon:

Step into the world of Victorian London, where the wealth and poverty exist side by side. This is the story of two long-lost sisters, whose lives take different paths, and the young woman who will be transformed by their experiences.

In 1912, twenty-year-old Tilly Harper leaves the peace and beauty of her native Lake District for London, to become assistant housemother at Mr. Shaw’s Home for Watercress and Flower Girls. For years, the home has cared for London’s flower girls—orphaned and crippled children living on the grimy streets and selling posies of violets and watercress to survive.

Soon after she arrives, Tilly discovers a diary written by an orphan named Florrie—a young Irish flower girl who died of a broken heart after she and her sister, Rosie, were separated. Moved by Florrie’s pain and all she endured in her brief life, Tilly sets out to discover what happened to Rosie. But the search will not be easy. Full of twists and surprises, it leads the caring and determined young woman into unexpected places, including the depths of her own heart.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by The PurpleBooker. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please! List the author and book title too.

Link up HERE

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

Amaryllis - #SaturdaySnapshots

I've been laid low by the creeping crud that seems to be going around, so I'm only posting two photos today. I took these the last time my amaryllis bloomed. Right now it's sitting in the cold, dark garage. Maybe this harsh treatment will ensure its bloom in the spring.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

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