Part of any good garden show, whether its the famous Chelsea Flower Show in England or Seattles Northwest Flower & Garden Show, is pure fantasy. One display in Seattle celebrated stone in every conceivable way, including a massive Inuit Inukshuk that guarded the entry, and a towering rock-filled gabion wall. A low wall made of flagstones laid sideways like so many library books on a shelf was striking. The garden was the work of the firms Borrowed Ground and Exteriorscapes. (KEVIN P. CASEY / For The Times)
Tall containers, seen in many of the displays, emphasized verticality to create visual interest beyond balconies, terraces and other small spaces. (KEVIN P. CASEY / For The Times)
A live chicken in the little backyard barnyard built by Seattle Urban Farm Co. Its green patio cover was planted with corn and a chicken coop with a roof of strawberries. (KEVIN P. CASEY / For The Times)
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Flowers decorate an old wood chair at one of the garden exhibits. (KEVIN P. CASEY / For The Times)
Several of the most dramatic containers in a special exhibit of patio gardens were homemade by the designers. Here a fat, large steel pipe, with its sides peeled back like a partially eaten banana, is stuffed with fascinating little plants. (KEVIN P. CASEY / For The Times)
A stone fountain at the display garden by Eden Landscape Design. (KEVIN P. CASEY / For The Times)
A garden intended for a rooftop used planters made of corrugated metal siding with the original weathered barn-red paint. (KEVIN P. CASEY / For The Times)
