While everyone who attends the NWFGS enjoys the show, some people are especially fond of the seminars, others favor the demonstration gardens, and some revel in the shopping bonanza to be found in the vendor area. Over three hundred purveyors of plants, garden products, and art were present this year. For a complete exhibitor list with links to websites, go here. What follows is a tiny taste of the many exceptional things to see in the marketplace this year.
Clever name, eh?
Bob from Blackwaters Metal, who I'd seen a few weeks ago at the Tacoma Home and Garden Show, had more great work and amazing prices. This green man and a few other pieces took a walk to the parking structure with me. There were no chandeliers at this show but fortunately B.M. is about a 30 minute drive from my house so I can pick one up later!
For the second year, Bark and Garden brought a lot of plants. They sure display evergreens nicely in this all mixed up fashon. For an impulse buyers, this is perfect; for those who only shop with a list, it might not be as easy to find a particular plant if they're not all grouped together.
Les mentioned the great leaves of Helleborus 'Penny's Pink a few weeks ago and here they were at the show. One of these needed to find a home in my garden because of that great foliage. Now that the flower has opened, I'm twice as glad that I got this plant!
Look at all of the metal letters/numbers/symbols! Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have picked a few choice words.
Hopefully Release the Flying Monkeys, the company who sells these, will return to the show next year.
Lost in a sea of orchids!
Keeping it Green Nursery had some special plants.
I thought of a couple of English Bloggers who are avid Galanthus collectors.
I'm sure I looked much like my header picture when seeing this for sale!
Tempted by Grevillea 'Ivanhoe' but it's not fully hardy here so it stayed.
Eremurus roots remind me of sea creatures - octopi, squid, star fish.
Equal parts visual delight and great shopping was the space created by DIG, a creative force to be reckoned with.
Crystalline glazed pottery is fascinating to me. So many gorgeous pieces!
Like me, crows like to bring home all kinds of treasures. The one in the center, made by Jack Willoughby of Anvil Island Designs, flew to a new perch in Tacoma!
There was a lot of beautiful glass at the show. We are, after all, in a hotbed of glass in the PNW!
Glass Gardens Northwest/Barbara Sanderson is a perennial favorite at the show!
Barbara's "Fiddlesticks" make me smile.
Katy Lareau's fused glass flowers and bugs are lots of fun!
These foot and a half long drops were gorgeous!
Fish in the Garden were a hit!
Winfield Designs flowers will find a place in my garden.
Just for Linda, recovering from surgery, I looked at the vintage market for early and mid century pottery.
Need a light fixture? How about this beauty from the 1970's? In the right setting this would be perfect!
Perhaps you'd like to relax in your own mini medieval library/guest house. Little Mansions will deliver this diminutive beauty to your property!
If you're tired of working to create the garden of your dreams, The Mural Works can make it for you once and for all. This mural was painted on light weight metal and waterproofed so it can withstand the elements outside. I'm thinking that my garage would look much nicer with this painted on it!
Not a vendor, rather a silent guardian of the Washington State Convention Center bids us farewell as we leave the show with our treasures. I assume that this is an ornament from a now demolished historic Seattle building. I looked for interpretive signage but found none.
