A couple weeks ago my oldest son & I took a quick trip to Seattle. I let him pick a couple places he wanted to see & I chose a couple. First on my list was seeing Chihuly Garden & Glass. It was a-ma-zing! There’s a good reason this guy is world famous.

A peek at his beautiful work in the Exhibition Hall.

The glass pieces in the Exhibition Hall were exceptional, but in this post I’m to showcasing The Garden.

As a transition from the inside galleries to the garden outside is a large, open Glasshouse. Inisde features one huge sculpture suspended above.

Left: Location. Location. Location. Chihuly’s Garden is located at the foot of the Space Needle.
Right: Many spaghetti shaped glass pieces create Chihuly’s Sun.

The Garden

Another angle of the same garden area, with Sonic Bloom from the Pacific Science Center in the background. Sonic Bloom is not part of the Chihuly Garden, but it is fabulously awesome, as well.  I was in awe walking by the huge solar powered, singing flowers.

The color. Oh, the color!
My mind was on sensory overload taking in all the beautiful ways color was used in The Garden.

Blue. Not just one shade or tint of blue, but variations.

Top: Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’

Top: I’m going to be honest. The big red sculpture was my least favorite in the garden. Everything else I loved. This just didn’t do anything for me.
Bottom Right: Purples & chartreuse

I loved this.
The curvy orange glass in front, the straight spikey blue reeds in back & purple ornamental onion spheres intermingled.

I can’t decide what is meant to be the focal point – the flowers…
… or the glass. They blend so seamlessly together.

Black & White
Right: Black mondo grass is used in a couple different places throughout the Garden. It’s quite effective when used in such a large quantity.

I loved the magenta color of Chihuly’s Viola Crystal Tower.

I enjoyed The Garden very much & would definitely visit it again, if the chance comes around.

The ticket price included a visit during the day, with the option of coming back at night. We didn’t go back at dark, but I bet it’s spectacular.

Along with simply enjoying the beauty of The Garden, I have 2 take-aways to help me with my own garden. One is how I think about color. I love the way color was used in this garden. Many color palettes were used, yet they merged very well together. The colors were bold &, in many instances, there were variations of the same hue. The Garden also reinforced the importance of trees & shrubs. They certainly weren’t the focus of the garden, yet were so vital to the overall feel of it. It’s an area I struggle with in my own gardens.

It’s worth the visit if you’re in the Seattle area.

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Last week I took the kids to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest, which has turned out to be an annual trip for us.

We arrived around 10:00 to quite a bit of fog. So, this year’s photos have gray sky to go along with the colorful tulips. By the time we left, though, the sun was starting to come out.

I enjoyed this wide open space with many raised beds of labeled tulips. I believe the layout is new this year.

The kids love the mud.

Top Left: Orange Emperor Tulip. Right: One of my favorites this year. Unfortunately, it was in a mixed row & not labeled specifically.

It was beautiful & I enjoyed it, as I always do.

But, I’m a bit spoiled.

I like to go when it’s me, my kids, the tulips & a few other visitors. I don’t need, or want, the hoopla or the crowds. This time it was rather crowded for a foggy Monday morning. And, much of the vendor stuff was open. I’m not there for the crowds, the crafts for sale, or the pony rides. I just want to go for a nice, beautiful walk with my kids.

I know the weekends are busy family friendly events with lots to do. Had I gone on a weekend, I would have went for that reason & enjoyed it. But, it’s not why I went & was a bit bummed by all the extra stuff. Each year it seems to get bigger & bigger… fest wise, not tulip wise.

Not a huge deal. I’m sure I will go back next year. I will just be more mentally prepared for the type of event we are attending.

Check out our other visits to the Tulip Festival:
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

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The kids & I ventured a bit south yesterday to visit The Oregon Garden. This was a first time visit for all of us.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect. We didn’t have time to explore the entire garden, but what we did see we enjoyed very much. It was a great place to explore with my kids. We had fun seeing the birds, squirrels, snakes, frogs, salamanders & bugs. I’ll admit, not all of it was knock-your-socks off gardening. But, we did have a great time & I enjoyed seeing the many different garden styles.

AMAZING WATER GARDEN

Chilean Gunnera
The leaves on this interesting plant caught my attention.

The kids spotted many salamanders in the pools of water.

We also saw a snake hunting frogs in the water. Things like this could entertain my kids all day.

TRAM RIDE

We took a tram ride to the back side of the garden. Then walked our way back. The tram driver was full of information about the various plants & gardens.

According to the tram driver, many of the garden areas are being kept up by various sources. He told us a story about this house & that it is now owned (or at least partly owned) by Better Homes & Garden Magazine. I found that curious.

REDISCOVERY FOREST

A very well managed demonstration forest area. It was beautiful and had lots of information. However, it was a bit too well kept to be an accurate representation of what our forests look like. We live in the hills of the Coast Range and there is a lot more depth in the plants than what is shown here.

Many Christmas trees throughout the country are grown right here in Oregon. We have a few friends that have Christmas tree farms. As part of the Rediscovery Forest, rows of Christmas trees were on display.

CHILDREN’S GARDEN

If I had to pick a favorite part of the Oregon Garden, this would be it. I adored all the whimsy.

Left: Mrs. & Mr. Potts
Right: Dolphin topiary

Awesome bench. Awesome weather vane.

Of all the gardens, the one idea I’m most likely to use at my own house is probably unconventional. I’ve had the idea of making a hobbit house for the kids for a little while now. But, seeing this one in person convinced me that we totally need one. My immediate reaction was how much our goats would love to climb on it. We have two piles of dirt that need rehoming & we need permanent housing for our goats. It’s a no-brainer to combine the two & make the shelter for the goats a hobbit house.

AND MORE…

Avondale Redbud
The one plant/tree that I wanted to come home with. I love the magenta color.

Silverton Market Garden
One area displayed different ways to grow a variety of crops. There were trellises with grape vines & raised beds ready to be planted. I, of course, was happy to see a chicken coop.

Left: The 400 year old Signature Oak. It is one of Oregon’s heritage trees.

LETTERBOXING

The kids & I like to search for letterboxes. We found a couple at the Oregon Garden. Yay!

The kids enjoyed this garden so much & wanted to stay longer, but as it was we were going to be a few minutes late for Farm Girl’s gymnastics class. We will definitely need to visit again. I’m thinking maybe even this summer. I’d love to see the gardens in full summer bloom.

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Earlier this spring my mom went to a nursery that she thought I would enjoy. Today we finally made it there together. It is The Garden Corner. Mom was right, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I didn’t have my camera with me, but lucky for me the hubby & I just got new phones. This was a perfect place to try out the camera feature. Except for cropping & the watermark, these pics are SOOC. When we got the new phones Farmer John was wanting to know technical this & technical that. I mostly cared about a good camera. I’d say the Verizon guy steered me in the right direction. I’m quite happy with the way most of the pics turned out.

One of my favorite things about the garden was the super cool boardwalk. I bet it took forever to install.

There were many super-sized pots available to purchase.

So many lovely flowers.

Sempervivum ‘cobweb’

There were many unique flowers that I haven’t seen before.

Fun foliage.

Lots of whimsical decor.

The cutest gnomes. One gnome is not having a good day.

Shoes. I’m not a shoe person, as far as owning cute shoes myself. But, I do like whimsical shoe decor.

I loved the chic look of the metal background. I’m so jealous. I know if I did that at home it would just look trashy, like we didn’t put it away.

Also, random cardboard people & mannequins were placed around.

Many, many lovely hanging baskets.

I like the purple & lime colors of this one.

Chicken basket with Hen & Chicks.

Itty bitty hanging baskets

The itty bitty baskets were placed near the largest hanging basket in the world.

This hanging basket was huge. When I saw it I told my mom, “This basket is meant for Disneyland.” But, apparently even Disneyland doesn’t have a basket this big.

This basket is so big it even has its own tshirts.

It was a fun place to visit. I brought home a couple goodies, but I was so busy browsing & enjoying the scenery that I ended up forgetting to buy a couple of the things I wanted. I guess that’s just a good excuse to go back. To see more pics from The Garden Corner, check out my facebook page.

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2013 was, of course, another beautiful year at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest. This was my first time here with my new camera. I liked my photos from previous years, but these are a bit better quality. I notice the flowers are sharper & the sky isn’t washed out.

Top Right: This is always a great place to capture fun pics of my kids & nice shots of tulips. But, a person can only have so many pretty tulip photos, so I tried something different this year. I brought bubbles & bubble blowers (my children) to the tulips.

Bottom: The colors of these tulips are definitely one of my favorites.

Check out our other visits to the Tulip Festival:
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

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Since we are learning about the Oregon Trail, I thought it would be fun to check out The End of the Oregon Trail in Oregon City. Historically, this is an important spot. Pioneers traveling along the Oregon Trail ended their journey here – well kind of. Back in the days of the Oregon Trail the whole area would be full of covered wagons. From here travelers spread out finding their perfect home throughout the Willamette Valley.

This official End of the Oregon Trail has an Interpretive Center, Visitor Center & Heritage Garden. The garden is tended by Master Gardeners and has many of the plants pioneers grew.

VISITOR CENTER

We spent awhile exploring the Visitor Center playing old games & trying on pioneer clothes.

Top: Merchant’s counter that was used in the 1860’s

Bottom Left: This was the first time I had heard about button dolls. They’re practical. The arms & legs are made of buttons, so when you lost a button along the trail you took a button from a little girl’s button doll.

Middle Right: This was a game called Three Men’s Morris, an early version of tic tac toe.

INTERPRETIVE CENTER

The Interpretive Center was closed when we visited, which was a bummer. But, I peeked through a window and it seemed to have typical items found along the Oregon Trail. We’ll have to go back another day to check it out.

CEDAR PLANK BUILDINGS

Near the garden were buildings built from cedar planks.

HERITAGE GARDEN

The garden was small, but had many interesting plants.

I do have this one suggestion. Don’t plant sunflowers right in front of your sign. I gently pulled the sunflowers back to read the sign.

Left: Bloody Butcher Corn

Top Right: There were little signs like this around the garden describing plants.

Bottom Right: The squash is Boston Marrow.

Top Left: Kent Golding Hops

Bottom Right: Scarlet Runner Beans

Top Left: Purple Mountain Orach. I’ve never seen this. The plant is tall & kinda leggy, but I loved the burgundy flowers.

Bottom Left: My fun loving, but maybe slightly odd, son was collecting seeds from the ground to add to his garden. When we got home he was even nice enough to share some with me. He collects seeds at home, too. So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he would do it here. They did have small seed packets to purchase in the visitor center. When I went they had 4 different types of seeds – 2 veggies & 2 flowers. I bought 5 packets and am seriously thinking about sending the master gardeners an email to see if they will send me more varieties. I’d love to have good heritage plants to add to my gardens.

We’ll have to go back when the Interpretive Center is open & also check out the garden again.

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The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm puts on a fantastic spring show each year. In 2012, we actually went on a sunny day. It was a little too nice. My kids started complaining that they were hot 10 minutes after we arrived. I told them we drove too far to just turn around & go home. I wasn’t going home until I saw every last flower! My youngest wasn’t buying it. She didn’t care how far we drove. She was hot & cranky & wanted to go home. Unfortunately for her I don’t give in that easily & we stayed. The boys & I enjoyed the rainbow of color. When we were done, we hadn’t even drove out of the parking lot before she fell asleep. All the complaining must have wore her out.

Bottom Left: On weekends, there are games, rides, craft vendors & carnival type food. We’ve never gone on a weekend to experience all that. I prefer going on less crowded days.

Check out our other visits to the Tulip Festival:
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

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Farmer John asked if I wanted to go to the Home & Garden Show today. How could I say no to that? It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. He was busy drooling over solar panels, greenhouses & some sort of styrofoam wall support thing-a-ma-jigs. I came to see the gardens.

CHICKEN COOP

My first photo-op of the day was a chicken coop. It was quite cute. Good for a couple chickens.

LIVING WALLS

I’m undecided whether I like living walls or not. It appears it can also be inside your house. The idea is cool, but I bet it’s a lot of work to keep it looking nice.

GAS STOVES

My favorite thing from the show were these awesome, awesome gas stoves. There were a few on display. This was a fun one for your yard.

They had some for inside your home, too. And, they really do put off heat. I liked this one because the lighting could change. The rocks could appear purple, blue, white, etc. Glad I didn’t see these when we were building our house. It’s totally not practical for us, so Farmer John would have vetoed it. But, I would have been tempted.

METAL WORK

A bit of whimsy in the yard is always nice.

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Left: I like a natural feel to my yard. But, I’d love a bit of sparkle, too. I might have to hunt these down. Although, why do I have a feeling they wouldn’t look quite so awesome in my yard.
Right: This is not something I’d ever have at my house. But, I really like the contemporary feel of it. No matter how weather resistant that painting is supposed to be, I’m pretty sure it’d be ruined at my house in a matter of a few short years.

I would love to have a semi-covered area outside. Okay, in our rainy case, it better be fully covered if we were ever going to enjoy it. I love the lights & the mood. I also like the wall with open windows. Secluded, but still be able to see what’s going on around you.

On the backside of a similar wall was this classy fountain. Mmmmm…. love. And, I love the sparkly, blue stones.

My favorite landscape, by far, was this. I love everything about it. I love water in the garden. It’s got not one, but two waterfalls. The blue lighting on them is fabulous. The metal fish are perfectly placed. It’s got two propane burning fires that just mesmerize you. If I were rich, I’d have made an appointment with these people right then and there requesting they make me this exact pond. I overheard a woman saying her boys own the landscaping company that designed this. I bet she’s one proud mama.

We left the show with many good ideas, but will we put any of it to use?

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Our 2011 trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest was just as beautiful as 2010. Rows & rows & rows of tulips – all kinds, all colors.

It is a great, cheap way to spend a couple hours. During the week they only charge $5 per carload. I spend more in gas than on admission. At the end of the row is the name of the tulip variety – just in case you want to purchase bulbs from their store. Although my kids did enjoy all the tulips, they soon found that jumping in the mud was a tad more fun. I was happy taking pics of the tulips, they were happy getting dirty. It was a perfect morning.

Left: As well as their gorgeous tulip fields they also have this beautiful garden.

Right: My favorite – these frilly tulips! Their online catalog calls them Fancy Frills.

Check out our other visits to the Tulip Festival:
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

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The Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest has been open for many years, but 2010 was the first year I went to experience it. I enjoyed it so much, I keep going back year after year. I want to keep the previous years on my blog so I can see changes in the fields, changes in my photography skills & what caught my attention each year.

Top Left: Seeing this picture gets me all mushy inside. It is so typical of our youngest son. He loves flowers & he loves taking pictures. He has his own flower garden, but we just haven’t had much luck with it. We talked about it the other day & I suggested he plant bulbs for spring color. He chose tulips. I wonder if the Tulip Fest has anything to do with that decision?

Check out our other visits to the Tulip Festival:
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

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