Vancouver orca-watching expedition with killer whale views
September 04, 2011 After the magical orca-watching experience from shore on San Juan Island, we doubted we could top it, even though we’d already reserved a whale-watching expedition in Vancouver, British Columbia, the final stop on our Pacific Northwest vacation last month. And we were right. It was more incredible ...
Orcas, eagles & scenic views in the San Juan Islands
August 30, 2011 A chilly, misty, 6 a.m. ferry ride across the Rosario Strait late last month spirited me and my family from Anacortes, north of bustling Seattle, to charming Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, part of the archipelago known as the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Easily ...
Majestic Mount Rainier National Park
August 27, 2011 During our vacation in Seattle at the end of July, we rented a car and drove to Mount Rainier National Park, about 2-1/2 hours southeast of the city. Snowcapped even in summer, Mt. Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascade Range at 14,410 feet. The day ...
Seattle Japanese Garden, a tranquil oasis in the city
August 25, 2011 In late July, after the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling ended, my family joined me for sightseeing in the Emerald City and beyond. I convinced them to see one more garden with me, the Seattle Japanese Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum. At 3-1/2 acres, the garden is ...
Visit to Dragonfly Farms Nursery, & goodbye Seattle Fling
August 20, 2011 The final event of last month’s Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling was an afternoon visit to Dragonfly Farms Nursery—“Where Abnormality is the Normality!”—in Kingston, WA, and a fun happy hour on the lawn. Dragonfly Farms offers not only an enticing selection of plants for sale but beautiful and ...
Nature, only better: The transcendent Bloedel Reserve
August 18, 2011 The Bloedel Reserve is a place of utter beauty and almost spiritual peacefulness. Rain drips quietly from mossy branches, and the color green wraps you in a soft embrace. I explored the grounds for two-and-a-half hours—not nearly enough time to see all 150 acres, but enough to ...
Color-rich Farley Garden at Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling
August 17, 2011 Kate Farley’s west Seattle garden, which I visited on Day 3 of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling, is a garden of exploration from front to back. I’m going to start in back, because the Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria) were blooming spectacularly, a huge swath glowing salmon-orange in the ...
Urban hillbilly chic defines Edwards Forkner Garden: Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling
August 15, 2011 Lorene welcoming 70+ bloggers into her Seattle garden on Day 3 of the Fling In a post on her blog Planted at Home, Lorene Edwards Forkner, a co-planner of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling, catchily describes her gardening style as urban hillbilly chic: “I love to work ...
Happy people, great views: Seattle’s Bellevue Botanical Garden, Pike Place Market and Mt. Rainier
August 14, 2011 Crocosmia (Seattle’s signature plant during the Fling) and Helenium at the Bellevue Botanic Gardens During the last month’s Garden Bloggers Fling in Seattle I witnessed a lot of happy bloggers and a lot of beautiful views. We 70+ garden bloggers would be delighted to visit with each ...
Woodland fantasy: Lane Garden at Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling
August 13, 2011 Faces upturned to the warm sunshine—that’s how Seattleites greet the sun, when it appears Woodland gardens were expected at the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling last month. But mix in a classical folly dripping with flowers, glass art, reflective water features, a sophisticated outdoor-kitchen patio, and the magic ...
Garden with a view: Epping garden at Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling
August 11, 2011 If you’re lucky enough to live on a hilltop in Seattle, odds are you have a nice view of something, seeing as the city is surrounded by mountains and the sea. In the Epping Garden, which we visited on Day Two of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling, ...
Dunn Gardens at Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling
August 09, 2011 Anneliese of The CobraHead Blog strikes a pose in the Dunn Gardens Following two private-garden visits on Day One of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling, we were bused to the Dunn Gardens for lunch and a docent-led tour. In 1915, in what is now the Broadview neighborhood, ...
Birrell garden at Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling
August 08, 2011 After spending more than half the allotted time admiring Shelagh Tucker’s garden (on Day One of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling), I realized I was running out of time to see Suzette and Jim Birrell’s garden and darted next door. How different from Shelagh’s dry gravel garden ...
Shelagh Tucker garden at Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling
August 07, 2011 Six Austin garden bloggers journeyed to Seattle for the Garden Bloggers Fling. That’s me on the left, Caroline of The Shovel-Ready Garden, Becky of Wolf’s Garden, Vicki of Playin’ Outside, Jenny of Rock Rose, and Diana of Sharing Nature’s Garden. Look! Scarves & cardigans in July! The ...