"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Monday, August 22, 2011

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. Pin It

15 comments:

  1. Hi Catherine. From the looks of your photos, you're right about Cisco's garden reflecting his boisterous personality. That hell strip is to die for. Such exuberant colors. What a great time it must have been for you all. Kudos to Littlest Gardener! Don't you love it when kids positively ID plants?

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  2. Great photos, great post, great gathering, and great meeting you! Can't hardly wait until next time.
    What a smart little gardener you have there! Brilliant!

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  3. I enjoyed this post, Catherine. What fun it is to visit others' gardens. You certainly have a sizable number of garden bloggers in your area. Have a great week!
    Blessings, Beth

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  4. Hi Catherine,

    What a fun time and a great garden. I have only met a few Chicago bloggers and they all live quite far from me. This is nice that it is an organized group.

    Eileen

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  5. Seattle is definitely a Mecca for garden bloggers! I think you might even rival Austin.

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  6. Seattle is definitely a Mecca for garden bloggers! I think you might even rival Austin.

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  7. Catherine, Have a few minutes tonight so I wanted to check on your postings and a couple of others. Glad I did. You sound like you had a really great time getting together. I like the idea and I like the formate for the day. Something I would like to try. There are plenty of people who stop in here to visit and I get out to lots of gardens, but holding a "party" and talk session, sounds like a great day. May be on the agenda for next Summer. Would like to invite all those who I follow and those who follow me. Could get expensive for the air travel!! By-the-way, just took some photos of Sea Holly to post latter. An interesting plant. Jack

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  8. You really have a number of bloggers in your area and I do recognize some of them. You made me want to find out how many are in my area, but I am guessing I will have to go as far as Toronto to pick up any sizable number of them.

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  9. great photos...I used to see Ciscoe on one of my favorite shows, Gardening by the yard, but unfortunately that show is no longer on...still hoping the series will show up on netflix one day!

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  10. Ciscoe's hell-strip makes me wish I had one. So gorgeous!! As are all the other parts of his garden. Thanks for sharing, Catherine.

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  11. Sounds like a wonderful time. If his garden reflects his personality, he is one dynamic person! So vibrant!

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  12. What a fun post! I actually recognized most of the other bloggers you mentioned, how fun that you get to meet them!

    The bats are priceless! A little whimsy in the garden is always fun.

    I think that perhaps now I need to find some Eryingiums of my own. I just love how they look!

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  13. So many wonderful plants in that Hell Strip. Wow, I want that fountain Catherine. How pretty is that leaf. Those bats are so cute.

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  14. I definitely like the blue eryngiums better than my plain green ones. And the bats! I've just started doing metal art... and you've given me an idea :o) Thanks!

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