My display this year at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show City Living follows the show’s Gardens of the World theme, with inspiration from Denmark and Sweden.  It’s entitled:

Krukker Have

This roughly translates to Garden Pots, in Danish.  I’ve been following the Danish plantsman and author, Claus Dalby, eagerly waiting the translation of his new book, Pots in the Garden.  He is resurrecting the practice of Monoculture Planting, in which you plant only one type of plant per container, and group the pots at their best.  Of course, this is insanely labor intensive, requiring a lot of pots and planning.  Every year his displays look even better.

I also love the Swedish Farmhouse displays created by Karolina Brising of Lansman Garden Design.  Even without Google Translate, you can enjoy her bold displays and gorgeous photography.  She is a master at styling these displays with additional elements like lanterns and cut evergreen boughs.

But first, you need a lot of pots

The first task was to acquire a lot of pots to use in the display. I wanted a unified look but without the feeling of matchy-matchy purchased-all-the-pots-at-the-same-time feel (which is, of course ,what I actually did), so I deliberately chose a variety of shapes and sizes.

And then I had to age them.  I chose a simple whitewash, brushed on randomly, with a splash of green paint.  After they dried, I lightly sanded out the brush-strokes.

When is a door not a door?*

Last year, I created a front-porch display with a garden bench, using Pearls (the traditional 30-year anniversary gift) as the theme, echoing shades of pearlescent pink and silver:

I had really wanted to emphasize the front door more, but chickened out.  This year, it is front and center, on tiered platforms to resemble front porch stairs.  But first, I have to build the platforms!  I also don’t want to buy/lift/use/clean-up all the soil from all the pots, so I made some false-bottoms for every pot to reduce the amount of soil I will bring. I am using false-pavers to test the layout, and this fall I acquired a few plants to see if my color scheme will work.  Clearly I need more plants!

[*the answer to the joke of course is, when it’s ajar.]

When is a wall not a wall?

Our City Living displays are small, only 6′ x 12′, separated by plain grey walls.  I want to give the illusion of being wedged between tall brick buildings on a busy street.  Most photo backdrops are insanely expensive, so I made some simple frames and wallpapered them. Each of the walls will have a different look.

Punch List

Being a one-woman show, there are a lot of individual tasks.  Now that the construction is mainly complete, I have to focus on all of the tiny details in just a few short weeks:

Decorations:

– [DONE] Making concrete spheres, because purchasing and shipping them is very expensive (hopefully its own blog post coming soon.) UPDATE 2/12/19 – Due to the prolonged snow, I was only able to complete one.  I’ll make more later this spring.

– [DONE] Collecting moss for art, focal points, and filler elements – UPDATE 2/12/19 – Some more moss needs to be collected, but it’s still under a foot of snow

– [DONE] Acquiring door mats, watering cans, and other front-porch garden elements

– [DONE] Choosing which artwork pieces are included

– [DONE] Constructing the moss-topiary

Construction Bits:

– [IN PROGRESS] Buying enough soil for all the pots, and collecting enough buckets to transport them

– [DONE] Packing all the set-up tools, from staple-guns, hammers and drills, to whisk brooms and hand-carts

– [IN PROGRESS] Finishing the trim work on the panels, and the method for hanging them up.

– [IN PROGRESS] Completing the window and fire-proofing the curtains

Marketing

– [IN PROGRESS] Creating the Plant List Postcards and getting them printed – UPDATE 2/10/19 – Sending to printer

– [DONE] Updating the website to the new URL, fixing the SEO, and writing these blog posts

– [DONE] Updating my hair and wardrobe, because it’s all about the hair

– [IN PROGRESS] Posting progression of the display creation on my Instagram stories

Plant List

It’s not a final list; we’ll make that decision when we see what plants make it through the snow:
Trees and Shrubs
Abies koreana ‘Silberpearle’ – standard
Acacia cognata ‘Cousin Itt’ (*)
Buxus sempervirens ‘Variegata’
Hebe ochracea ‘James Stirling’
Hebe x franciscana ‘Variegata’ (*)
Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’
Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’
Pinus mugo ‘Carsten’s Wintergold’
Pinus strobus ‘Blue Shag’
Rhododendron impeditum

Perennials
Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’
Helleborus x glandforensis Ice N’ Roses®
Heuchera ‘Lime Marmalade’

Bulbs and Annuals – Mostly grown by Cascade Cuts – Thank you!!!
Cyclamen persicum ‘White Frills’ (*)
Hyacinth ‘Carnegie’ White
Muscari aucheri White
Narcissus ‘Minnow’
Narcissus ‘Thalia’
Primula ‘Danova White’
Primula ‘Belarina Buttercup’
Tulipa ‘Monte Carlo’
Tulipa ‘White Marvel’

(*) Zone 8+ Not Winter Hardy in Pacific Northwest

Day of Show

There’s a lovely new TV show called 7 Days Out, profiling the days leading up to an important event.  I know this isn’t the Cassini Mission, but I’m lining up installation help, and working out how I’ll pack the truck.  I’ll make last minute plant selections so they look their best, and make final decor selections – I find it a challenge to balance the amount of garden art included with letting the plants speak for themselves.

Hope to see you there!

[Update:  See how it turned out ]