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| At Dragonfly Farms Nursery |
You might be a gardening geek who went to Seattle Fling if…
Before you left home, you spent more time making notes on how to water and tend your garden in your absence than you did providing instructions on how to care for your kids or pets, if you have them.
Your reading material for the long hours on the plane included the most recent issue of Hortus plus several old gardening books that you downloaded to your Kindle including Elizabeth and her German Garden. Bonus points if you don’t even like to fly but you flew anyway because you weren’t going to miss this fling. Double bonus points if on the flight home you were still thinking about gardens and read the book Timber Press gave you.
When you arrived in Seattle and saw that it was raining, you remembered your plants at home where it was hot and dry and momentarily wondered if you had left enough instructions for the lucky person who was going to water them all for you. Bonus points if in preparation for going to Seattle you mowed your lawn, even though you thought it could go awhile longer without being mowed, but you were afraid that if you didn’t mow it and by some miracle it did rain while you were gone, it would be overgrown when you returned. Triple bonus points of sympathy if it was so dry in your garden that you didn’t have to mow the lawn again until just this week, and even then it didn’t really need it, but you did it anyway because some of the drought tolerant weeds were getting kind of tall.
On your first walk over from the hotel to the University Village shopping area, your automatically went to Ravenna Gardens even though you were really going over there to get an iced green tea at Starbucks.
Bonus points if you went to Ravenna Gardens three or more times. Add more bonus points for every $25 you spent there when you went.
When the group visited the Elisabeth C. Miller Library at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, you thought it was the best library you had ever been in and were in awe that it was full of thousands of horticulture and gardening books and open to the public. Bonus points if you took a picture of a book because it had a fun title.
Double bonus points if you took a picture of a book because it had a botanical name on it that you wanted to remember because you had just fallen in love with that plant which was blooming right outside the library.
You wondered if you could grow it at home, maybe in a container.
You were willing to strike up conversations with others whom you didn’t know because you knew that everyone in the group was interested in obsessed with gardening and you would surely have something in common with them. Bonus points if you had been to the other three flings and already knew half the people attending, anyway.
At many of the garden stops, after viewing the gardens, you made it a point to look for the business end of the garden, to see what kinds of tools the gardeners used. You didn’t see many because most gardeners hid them away before everyone arrived, but you did spot this rake used to hold up some plants in the garden of Kate Farley.
You took more than 500 pictures of gardens. Bonus points if you took more than 750 pictures of gardens.
When you went to the Bloedel Reserve you took a picture of the soil exposed by a cut out for a future sitting area, just so you could remember what it was like.
Bonus points if you remember what your guide, garden designer Stacie Crooks, said about the soil at the Bloedel Reserve, which isn’t as rich as you would think it is because it is“glacial till”.
Someone took a picture of you and you look rested, at ease, happy, and comfortable because after all you are touring gardens and hanging out with other gardening geeks. Bonus points if you felt so at ease with the group that you wore your special occasion t-shirt with all the garden tools on it on the very first day of garden touring.
You didn’t complain about the rain while at the Bloedel Reserve and never heard anyone else complain about it, either. You just snapped open your umbrella and headed out to one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever seen.
And finally, you might be a gardening geek who went to Seattle Fling if you are already planning to attend the next fling, the fifth fling, rumored to take place some time in spring 2012 in Asheville, NC.
And where is that picture of you looking so content? Really, so many pictures in this post I am delighted! Missed the library but happy you posted shots here. Did it rain at Bloedel? LOL
I think I got a lot of bonus points at Ravenna, ha! I never did see a frown from anyone the whole time.
What a great post! Those are some great places to visit. Thanks for the ride-along.
This is an excellent way to entice us to participate in 2012! By Chance, would there be a website that chronicles past Flings would there?
Lots of bonus points for me. I walked over to Ravenna Gardens early the 1st morning & shot pictures during the Golden Hour. Seattle has some fine looking parking lots.
I excelled in this edition! Wasn't it all so much fun, and we get to do it again in a week. Yippee!~~Dee
Brilliant, Carol!!! You really do "get" the Seattle Gardening community and you are welcome back to visit any time!
xoxo Debra
I just put up a picture of you looking VERY content: http://www.penick.net/digging/?p=13260 I will see you again in Asheville, Carol, if not before!
Ravenna Gardens looks like my kind of place to shop! I would have loved to have joined all you garden bloggers for the Seattle Fling. Yes, I too am a garden geek.
Oh yes…I definitely racked up a few points here! My obsessive instructions left behind for garden care even included a crude map and several color photos!
I wish I could say I'd be at the next fling, but unless I win the lottery my memories of Seattle and knowing I'll be reading all about it on many blogs will have to do.
It sounds like you had a great time! I stayed home this time, but holy Biltmore Estates you hit a nerve. I've been hankering to go to Ashville ever since I got my first herb plants from the Sandy Mush Herb Nursery and we won't even talk about how long ago that was.
I totally am a garden geek. For some odd reason I went to 2 more gardens to take pictures on my way home. I think my grand total for pictures was just over 2,000.
As for the next fling, I just took a break from reading up about North Carolina and I landed here. I am already getting geeky for the next trip! The place will be so new for my husband and I, but we both are descended from folks who lived there so it's super exciting. Next I will begin memorizing my native plants for the area. Anyone have any great book suggestions on the subject?
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Yep. I don't score full points, but I do for worrying more about my frying garden back home than about my frying family… Geek might be too kind a description of me, under the circumstances.
sitting on my patio glass of red in hand looking at your beautifull photos great blog thankyou
Glacial till is nasty stuff. Instead of a hoe, you'd be using a pick here, Carol.
Deirdre
I am not a garden geek–more a fair-weather gardener–but Asheville, NC! Now you're talkin'! I tried Elizabeth and her German Garden. Honey, I could not get through it. You're much better.
Can't wait to see you this week, Carol! If I scored enough bonus points do I get a tour of your garden?! 🙂
I absolutely covet dierama. That and meconopsis will be in my garden someday no matter how long it takes.