February 21, 2019

"Living Art-fully! It’s in Our Nature"

Source material: 2018, February

          Last week, I published an article about my first year participating in the Northwest Flower and Garden Show (NWFGS) with the Elandan Gardens team. As of yesterday, the 2019 NWFGS is officially underway and I am glad to say my streak of participation with the Elandan crew continues! Last year in 2018, the display garden our team built kept true to Elandan's traditions. Dan again provided artfully pruned trees for display - both large landscape niwaki trees and small bonsai trees, while Will provided his stone sculptures - bigger and better than ever! If this garden and the other display gardens in this post inspire you to attend the show, your time is limited! 2019's NWFGS ends this Sunday, February 24th! 

Sections:

1. Dan's & Will's Garden
2. Other Display Gardens

Dan and Will Robinson's 2018 NWFGS display garden entitled "Living Art-fully! It’s in Our Nature".


1. Dan and Will's Garden

Dan's two large landscape trees for this year are a ~100 year old Japanese maple that he has owned and pruned for decades and a 60-year-old Japanese black pine he has continuously trained from seed into the specimen it is today.
Starting to fill in the mulch and place some colorful plants in the gaps - this is the process every year. Barren sawdust piles get huge rocks and landscape elements scattered throughout them before doing this detail work adding color to the display.

The Robinson family made this large decorative table for the show. Will carved the stone legs and Dan's son-in-law made the wooden top. 
For showtime, Will pulled out this spiral rock sculpture he made. The birds which sit on the ends are made of melted pennies if I recall correctly...

From left to right, a pink bougainvillea tropical bonsai, Will Robinson, a 400-year-old mountain hemlock, and Bonsai Man Dan talking with NWFGS guests. That hemlock has been with Dan at the show every year since I started in 2017. My first year, it appeared as nothing more than a shrub in the overall scenery. Last year, he put it into a bonsai pot and began doing some rough styling. This year he can be found at the show styling the foliage further into a more compact form.
An unusual yamadori (naturally formed) bonsai. Dan likes to put some unstyled specimen in his garden each year. The natural styling they've already received can be eye-catching enough for this show! This one is an old western red cedar.

2. Other Display Gardens

         This time, with the pictures of other gardens, you can better see the contrast between the Elandan Gardens style and the other gardens. Which garden is your favorite?

"Cake and Cheers for 30 Years" by Terra Firma Hardscapes
"Wabi-Sabi, Embrace Flawed Beauty" by West Seattle Nursery and Devonshire Landscaping
"Arboretum Carnavale: Wonders of the Winter Garden" by the Washington Park Arboretum Foundation
"Celebrate Form: Art Imitates Nature" by Fancy Fronds and ABLE Rustics
"Celebrate and Reflect" by Choice Landscapes LLC
"Father's Day" by Nature Perfect Landscape & Design
"Bee Simple!!" by Susan Browne Landscape Design and Perrenial Lawn and Garden
"Vanilla Farm" by the Northwest Orchid Society (angle #1)
"Vanilla Farm" by the Northwest Orchid Society (angle #2)
"Mother Nature as Muse - Mixing Magic and Materials" by Millenium Landscape and Construction
"Soiree of Reflection" by Treeline Designz, Aguiar Pavers, and JV Landscaping Services
"Contained Excitement!" by Issaquah Landscaping and designs by deLeuw
"For the Apple of My Eye" by Avid Landscape Design & Development
          Last, but certainly not least, the garden from my friend and Puget Sound Bonsai Association's Vice President - Bonsaiko. I'll give his work special attention in a future post.

"Pot Party" by Redwood Builders and my friend Bonsaiko (angle #1)
"Pot Party" by Redwood Builders and my friend Bonsaiko (angle #2)

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