
Ahhh, it's garden show season once more, and kicking things off, as usual, is the Portland Yard, Garden & Patio Show. I have to admit, I was REALLY tired (and maybe even a little cranky) at the time...so I probably missed a lot of details.

Right at the entrance to the show was a small display featuring this cool sculpture made of old gears. I don't know what it is I love so much about such things...I guess it's the contrast such things have when placed in a garden of soft, green plants.

All of the display gardens are named...but I usually don't pay any attention. I wasn't entirely sure what made this garden "autumnal".

Of course, it's not a garden show without some silly (and some downright dubious) design elements. Even if just inspiration...the grill fountain seems silly.

I did, however, like the swing in the background...although you'd need a pretty big yard for it to not seem overwhelming in scale.

While not something I'd be tempted to replicate, the tapestry of plants here is very effective.

While I generally try to be open-minded, I couldn't help but feel pretty pessimistic about this garden, in particular. One of the weakness of these shows is that plants take a back-seat to the design/hardscape. No where was it more evident than here.

While I kept thinking I should like this fountain...I think the material wasn't quite right...it looked sort of cheap (which I'm sure it wasn't)!

This sculpture, in person, was cool up-close, but from a distance, looked a bit awkward...and unstable...especially since it spun on it's base like a demented ballerina.

Plain trees are such a bore...you really need color-changing LED lights to make them bearable.
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I think it would be so cool to have a stock-tank pond...but I don't know why they didn't have any water plants in it...it seemed very barren.

This was apparently the year of the wood wall...they showed up in various incarnations at a few displays.

I really loved the effect this one gave, of the window into the garden. Again, I know this is really just meant to be inspirational...but this seemed especially impractical...it wouldn't take long for the wood to start settling, and/or breaking down...and then would look kinda sad, right?

I just called this one the ribbon garden...it wasn't bad, a little plain...but had some nice elements.

It's not a garden show if there aren't flames leaping out from every possible object!

I couldn't figure out if this sculpture was part of any particular display, but I kind of loved it!

While I think the 7 Dees people have done basically the same design for the past few years I've gone to this show, it's always very well done...and I'm kind of a sucker for the red-stemmed Dogwoods and Maples. Also, it's the only display garden that feels like it could actually be part of a real (albeit very expensive) garden.

I thought this particular garden (the Urban Edibles Garden) has some of the best ideas for gardeners to take away and use.

I kind of loved this shed!

I was totally digging these raised beds (as long as I get to change the plants, of course).

I can't imagine ever replicating this, but it did look cool.

I have to admit, I sort of find the whole vertical wall gardens a bit of a gimmick...but I loved this iteration of the concept. I keep trying to figure out where I could do something like this. A bonus, it's nice to see people using something other than just succulents for once (although, admittedly, with such a small amount of soil...they would be the most likely to survive in such a setting).
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There were a few nurseries on site selling plants...I didn't see anything tempting. Ok...the Alliums were tempting...but I planted about a million of them last fall...so I should probably see what comes up before adding more!

Since most of the plants didn't trip my trigger, I decided to get another piece of metal art for the garden...as leaving empty-handed would have seemed a bit sad. Luckily, I actually really like this piece...and here it is, already in my garden.
I hope you enjoyed our little romp around the YGP show...if you were in the Portland Area, did you go...what were your most/least favorite aspects of the show? Most importantly, what did I miss (or wrongly dismiss) in my report???
I really loved your review. I'm feeling very meh about garden shows this year. Don't you think you get better ideas and inspiration by visiting open gardens? #meh
ReplyDeleteYou are spot-on, LeLo...I've found that each Open Garden is about 100x more valuable as a source of inspiration...plus, it's so much more "real". It's a real space that people have created themselves...I find them amazing!
DeleteOh you were grumpy were you? I enjoyed your somewhat jaded take on the show. Our show is a Home & Garden show with mostly cabinet refacing and siding sales so I never go.
ReplyDeleteI liked the gear sculpture and the reclaimed wood wall planters in the edible garden. Your new sculpture is great and looks like it was custom made just for your garden.
Hahahaha...well, a little, yes ;-) We actually have a similar show as yours this coming weekend, that focuses way more on "home" stuff...gutters, countertops, etc. I went once and that was enough.
DeleteLots of really pretty setups there. I love to see different ideas and see if anything works for me. I usually don't have the space but it's nice to look at.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
I'm there with you, Cher...not much space left...so I have to be VERY picky ;-)
DeleteI would have expected a bit more from Portland...but then you have the Northwest Show in Seattle that is pretty planty (at least during my last visit two years ago). I think customers this time of year appreciate a fully planted garden. I too get pretty fed up with the minimalistic "artsy fartsy" thingies that try to make up in hard goods what they lack in plant talent. Gardens are about plants, dammit!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more...there is something so very disheartening about a garden that is all about the hardscape, with the plants being mere window dressing.
DeleteMy favorite scene is the last one of your garden -- I guess garden shows are born to be over the top, like they're trying to DNT us out of hibernation, but it's not what I'm looking for in a show. I wonder if SF's show will be up to something similar this year.
ReplyDeleteThat is likely the exact idea, Denise...they're going to MOTIVATE us one way or the other out of our winter doldrums! I can't wait to see what the SF show has in store...you must let us know!
DeleteI love that sculpture!
ReplyDeleteThanks ;-)
DeleteYou picked an amazing piece of "art" it looks so good in your garden already!
ReplyDeleteI hated everything about the garden with the hanging LED lights (tacky tacky tacky), well except the painted tree (as long as it was dead). I've seen that done in 3 gardens I've visited and loved the concept. And I love that you said that about the 7-Dees garden, I thought the same thing! That Edgeowrthia was the star for me last year and it is again this year!
Hahahahaha...I'm glad I wasn't the only one, Loree...sometimes I feel like maybe I'm a bit curmudgeonly ;-)
DeleteLoved the kettle fountain..!!! weber fountain....haha...and the DNA water feature....how creative and inventive!
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha...it's true...I didn't even think of it.
DeleteWhat is it about painting trees? There are a number of trees painted the same light blue in Lincoln Park along Lake Shore Drive here in Chicago. I find it weird. Nice choice of sculpture to take home, though!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely weird, Jason...I'm not sure what comes over people...as if the plants were somehow lacking in their natural form...what the what!
DeleteI have a couple of metal sculptures in my yard, but my favorite one is a turtle that was made out of junk from my former employer's garage. The turtle is ridiculously heavy (its body is mainly a wheel from some earth-moving machine) so I would love to know how much that gear sculpture weighs! I would imagine it would be a challenge to move. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat sculpture you bought is awesome, by the way--it looks like it was made for that spot!!!
OMG...I can only imagine how much that thing weighs...more than I could lift, I guarantee!
DeleteOh, and a note re: painted dead trees. I painted a willow in a bright wine color when I first moved in here. I'm not sure whether this happened because it was still half alive, or because I chose the wrong paint or (probably) both... but it only took a month before the paint started to chip off. :-(
ReplyDeleteOh no...I wondered about that...it seems like it would be a hard surface for paint to adhere to for any length of time.
DeleteIt's nice reading two different (but similar) views of the same event. I believe you were my avatar at this show, as your comments could have easily come out of my mouth upon seeing all of this. Love the gears. Love the sculpture made up of little "scales".
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised to hear that there's more hardscape than plants there, as that's *really* the case here at the St. Louis "Home and Garden" show (with much more emphasis on "home"). Everybody wants to help you pave your yard and equip an outdoor kitchen!
Love the little sculpture you picked out. May get lost in summer, but right now it's perfect!
I'm glad I was able to be your proxy, Alan ;-) Yes...it's sort of the way of things...the designers are really promoting their landscaping ideas...the plants are just window-dressing, sadly.
DeleteNice tour, though I can imagine that one huge bed swing being in scale / complimentary with some of your towering conifers in the background, with some soft and spiky in front at a closer view.
ReplyDeleteYou are completely right, David...if I had a large property with towering trees...I'd be saving up for that puppy, for sure ;-)
DeleteI've always loved your photos, and now i love you comments more, made me smile at every turn and photo. Re-the displays, i wonder what that DNA helix is trying to say there, it looks like water sprung from the structure as it moves, but somehow it defied its real function at all. I also love that woody planter wall, but wood is not lasting well here in the tropics, they rot as fast as the setting sun.
ReplyDeleteActually, you are so right about the wood wall, Andrea...and, to be honest, I can't imagine it would last long here, either!
DeleteI love the over the top tackiness you see at some garden shows; one hopes for at least one terrible display garden to dis. That hanging led light thing with the metal doo-dad in the 'pond' is pretty bad I must say...ok, really bad. I lol'd at your Pompeii corpse reference ! I think your purchase is splendid, clearly you were able to separate the wheat from the chaff. I need to go over to Lorees blog now and catch her take on things.
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha...it's true...I think at least part of the fun is the eye-rolling at how over-the-top some of the displays are!
DeleteNothing ! i love this report ! i love the metal things ! merci !
ReplyDeleteThanks, Delphine...I like it too :-)
DeleteYou certainly see some bizarre design ideas at garden shows, both good and bad. Although the local show isn't nearly as elaborate as what you're used to, it encompasses many of the same elements. Next weekend I get to find out if wood walls are all the rage in Hartford too.
ReplyDeleteHahahahahaha...I do hope you let us know if Harford is in-line with Portland, Sue!
DeleteOh, I think you did a pretty good job of describing the highlights and lowlights of the show, Scott. I loved your take on several things: the expensive, cheap-looking pool and fountain (couldn't they have at least put some gravel on the bottom to hide the vinyl liner?), the goofy barbeque fire fountain, and the really nice elements in the Urban Edible Garden, (loving those lovely, long pavers and the vertical planter wall). And a nice choice in garden art for a memento!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane...it's been really fun to see everyone's different takes on the show...it's interesting to see the things that we each zero in on, isn't it?
DeleteYou did it again...walked out of that hodge podge that struck me as a junkyard with an amazing piece of sculpture that looks perfect in your garden. It's been fun to read all the different takes on the show. Looks to me like the target audience for the display gardens is homeowners ready to splurge on the big bucks installation. I'll admit to getting a voyeuristic kick out of it. The rest of the show is geared more to actual, dirt-under-the-fingernails gardeners.
ReplyDeleteI think you're very right, Ricki...we are very definitely NOT the target audience for the displays...but, yes, part of me gets a kick out of seeing just HOW FAR they are willing to go to garner attention ;-)
DeleteYou got nice photos of what was likely not very inspiring display. Our show is coming in March and each year gets a little worse in the exhibits. Like you, I buy metal art too for the garden. There rarely is much else that appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of sad, isn't it...and yet, we just keep going...hoping for some small glimpse of inspiration, right?
DeleteOoh, I love that piece you picked up too. Very nice! I can see why the show wasn't too inspiring. But at least they make an effort there to build pseudo-gardens. The ones I've been too around here don't even have that! BTW, I look forward to meeting you at the Garden Bloggers Fling!
ReplyDeleteIt's true...and even though I find them a little silly, it's almost alway fun to go...we're so starved for anything garden-related at this time of year! YES...can't wait for the fling!!!
DeleteI stopped going to the garden shows here in Washington after about three years of trips. Too many gazebos, fountains, and fish ponds. You trip looked like you have some creative sculptors in town . I like the garden bling you picked up!
ReplyDelete-Ray
Thanks, Swimray! Yeah...sometimes it seems as if plants have taken a back seat to all the other objects, doesn't it?
DeleteLove your new garden art and the sphere at the show is also stunning! Our mood sure has a lot to do with how we perceive shows. Loved your review! Are you coming to the Seattle Show this week?
ReplyDeleteThanks...I'm actually loving it too! My mood definitely colors my perceptions...sometimes for good, sometimes not...and yes...I think I'm going to the Seattle Show this weekend :-)
DeleteScott nice reporting; it sure seems like the garden is becoming less about the plants and more about the debris you can litter it with. I don't like a lot of junk in the garden, but the art I do like I can't afford, so I'll let nature fill in the gaps for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tom! I agree...it seems as if gardening has given way, for many, to mere decorating...and much of it is...shall we say, "questionable" ;-)
DeleteSpot-on comments, especially the Pompeii-like form. However did you get such good photos in such terrible lighting conditions?
ReplyDeletewould love to get pieces like this for my outdoor patio.
ReplyDelete