The presence of 25 Cracked Pots vendors created a buzz.  The aisle dedicated to this not-for-profit group of artists who create art for home and garden from recycled and re-purposed materials was jammed with shoppers and looky-loos.  Objects fashioned of metal, from large, dramatic pieces to smaller fanciful bouquets of steel flowers attracted attention.  Garden divas Linda Beutler and Nancy Goldman succumbed to temptation purchasing birdhouses crafted from recycled wooded and decorated with a whimsical  and sometimes nonsensical objects.  I looked for colorful art pieces that might work in what will be my newly renovated back garden.  Clear dishes painted in a eye-catching colors affixed to rebar stakes caught my attention.

The Remarkable Green Market vendors stocked a tempting array of plants.  Xera Plants and Cistus Nursery beckoned with a selection of drought tolerant shrubs and perennials perfect for filling the holes in my gravel and wall gardens.  Burl Mostul, proprietor of Rare Plant Research, offered a number species and hybrid Eucomis otherwise known as pineapple lilies.  The bulbs were huge–I bought a number of them from him at least years show –each producing several bloom stalks the first year.

Seminar speakers captivated audiences with their expertise, practical advice and humor.  Dan Hinkley, sponsored by Monrovia, highlighted his favorite trees, shrubs,vines and perennials for year-round interest as well as presenting a lecture chronicling the development of Windcliff–his new garden situated on a  sunny, wind swept bluff high above the sound–the antithesis of Heronswood–a garden carved out of a woodland understory. Dulcy Mahar, Barbara Blossom and Robb Rosser provided poignant, joyful and hysterical insights into their gardening careers via a discussion of their worst garden bloopers–imagine Robb bleating like a goat.  What a treat! Vegetable gardeners, from novice to accomplished, garnered advice from the experts.  Bill Thorness shared insights into growing heirloom veggies while Rose Marie Nichols McGee illustrated techniques for growing food in containers.  Richie Steffen, curator for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanic Garden in Seattle amazed his audience as he created a fern table–a wondrous composition of ferns, wood and moss.

Fabulous fern table created by Richie Steffen in his demonstration workshop at YGP Show.

Sean Hogan and the crew from Cistus Design Nursery created a stunning display garden featuring many of Sean’s favorite evergreens–plants that breeze through our wet winters and thrive in our dry summers.  Silver and gray foliage predominated providing a foil for bronze grasses.  Show stalwart, Eammon Hughes of  Hughes Water Gardens, designed a beautiful pond with an elegant planting of red twig dogwoods–simple and elegant.