Christianson's Nursery

A trip to the Skagit Valley is not complete without a visit to one of our favorite plant places. 

 It's right in the middle of the farmland, and some years there are bulb fields right here across the road. 

A small, fancy maple caught Tom's eye right away. He talked himself out of it, but in the end I talked him back into it. It will be a bonsai. 

 There is a lot of old stuff here. The nursery dates from 1946, and the owners like to "preserve small bits of history" from the Skagit Valley farmland. They have moved in old buildings and preserve the old buildings from the original business instead of building new structures. I have always loved this big old watering trough. 

 Since we had already seen the tulip displays this time around, we took our time in the nursery, checking out names of plants that were unfamiliar. 

 So many interesting plants.

And a lovely gift shop too!

 Yep. We collected a few plants as we went along. 

 I really wanted to sit here and have someone serve me tea, but I think I missed whatever the function was. 

 Last year we met the greenhouse cat. This year I said howdy to the hen. She ignored me. 

This 1888 school house was moved here as part of preserving history. It housed a little local artist show. 

 We love this little espaliered apple hedge. 

Aw. What a lovely day it was!  We paid for our plants, found an espresso stand for some late afternoon coffee and chocolate, and then crossed over the bridge and began the hour long drive down the island to our Whidbey cabin. My soul was restored.  

Tulip Time in the Skagit Valley

It is an annual pilgrimage for us. This year our days were filling up, and the weather has been awful, but we decided to set a date and take our chances. Look what we got!

 Here we are in one of the growing fields of Roozengaarde, one of the major bulb growers here. 

And this was just the beginning. Next we were off to the incredible Roozengaarde display gardens, and more growing fields.  

I have too many photos, so I will try to limit myself. At least there will be very little to read. 

This is outside the display garden, along the road, for all passersby to see. 

 So many beautiful combinations. 

 In the distance you can see the bands of color of more growing fields. We trekked out there too. 

 A field of daffodils had just finished their show. 

 Purple and gold W, for all the Husky fans.

We spent about three hours here and in the fields. We bought some lunch here and enjoyed the gift shop as well.

Then we were off to Christianson's Nursery, also in the valley. More to come.