SAGBUTT and Ciscoe - how much more fun could I have had?

Yesterday was such a fun day and I wanted to share some of it.  I had the fun in joining up with some other local garden bloggers for a SAGBUTT meeting (Seattle Area Garden Bloggers United To Talk).  Yes, we know the name is funny, and that's what makes this group so great!  There's nothing like being with other people that enjoy gardening as much as I do.  Melanthia of Garden Muse hosted the meeting at her home where we talked, ate and got to enjoy seeing her garden and chickens.  It was fun seeing bloggers that I hadn't seen for awhile and also get to meet some new ones whose blogs I've been following.  I felt like I already knew them as soon as I saw them.  After the meeting we were lucky enough thanks to Kit 'Aerie-el' of Gardener's Roost to go on a garden tour.  I was only able to visit one which belongs to local gardening expert Ciscoe Morris and his wife. Hopefully the other SAGBUTT members will share more of the other gardens on their blogs so I can see what I missed.
Here are some pictures from Ciscoe's garden.  His garden definitely matched his enthusiastic personality!

The "hellstrip" surrounding his corner lot was all planted with a mix of perennials, shrubs and fruit trees.

This summer Eryingiums have become a new favorite of mine.  I'm still looking for one that gets such a nice blue color.  When the Littlest Gardener saw this picture she said, "Hey, that's Sea Holly!"

Lots of colorful foliage and textures throughout his garden.

Someone pointed out that each of the apples had been wrapped to protect them.

Lots and lots of Cacti filled the driveway, many were in bloom.  They are overwintered in the garage.

This was one of my favorite pieces of garden art.  These metal bats were hanging from the pergola rafters.  Now I want one for my garden!

This was the view from the patio under the pergola.  The large trunk to the right is from an old Wisteria.  In this corner is a water feature along with lots of really interesting plants.

Part of the water feature.

A flower bed in the back garden.  Meeting Ciscoe in person was a pleasure.  You could just tell how much he loves gardening and the joy he gets from sharing his knowledge with other gardeners.  It was the same joy that I felt when talking with the other garden bloggers that day.

Other bloggers that I had the pleasure of seeing were: Paula of Petunia's Garden, Nola of Life on Tiger Mountain, Alison of Bonney Lassie, Julia of Polka Dot Galoshes and Yvonne.  Plans were made for upcoming meetings at local public gardens, private gardens, seed swaps and other great events.  Join the Facebook page for the group if you are interested in joining in.
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.