Oh roomie, oh roomie, wherefore art thou?

We’re excited to have so many bloggers registered for the Fling in the first few days.  If you haven't signed up, we encourage you to register now to ensure your spot.

For some bloggers, this trip is a great way to see gardens, have fun, and have a room all to themselves to recharge. Other bloggers prefer to have a roommate to  to save money and make a new friend.  

We’ve seen several comments on multiple Facebook threads about roommates.  To help facilitate that process for those who want to share a room, we’re starting a new thread to give attendees a single place to look for a room or a roommate.  So, if you have a room and need a mate, or you're a mate in need of a room - check out the Roomie post on Facebook.

 

One of the Austin planners, Laura, of Wills Family Acres, highlights her great experience sharing a room:

“At my first two flings, I roomed with an Austin blogger I knew well. I enjoyed the comfort of knowing my roommate, but I didn't branch out as much. Spending most of our time together meant I didn’t meet as many other bloggers. My friend didn’t go to D.C. this summer, but I still wanted to save on hotel cost, so I nervously put myself out there, looking for a roommate on the Fling Facebook page. I roomed with Joanne from Toronto. What a great experience! Not only did I make a new friend in Joanne, but I made many more new friends by getting out of my safe bubble.” 

                                                        -- Laura

At the first fling in Austin back in 2008, traveling to another city or state to meet bloggers for the first time simply wasn’t done. But, so many things brought us together, from gardening and blogging to photography.

Special friendships were formed at that first fling that continue today.

So, whether you plan to relax and enjoy a peaceful experience in your solo room, or you reach out for a roommate, we hope

the Austin fling launches some lovely friendships. 

Fling filling up fast...

The Fling hotel is filling up rather quickly for our dates. Our block of contracted Fling-rate rooms has been snapped up (we're already at 75% registered for the Fling), but we're trying to get more added to our block. We won't know if the hotel will be able to do that for us. Because Austin is such a popular destination for travelers, we're urging our attendees to go ahead and reserve a room at the regular rate when you sign up. If we're able to get more Fling-rate rooms, we will help you switch over, but if not, you'll have your room reserved.


So, register and make your reservations now to join the herd for a barrel full of fun in Austin.

You'll be glad you did.

Cottagey flowers, spiky yuccas mingle in Margie McClurg's garden

A visit to Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, Canada, a few years ago inspired Austin homeowner Margie McClurg and her husband to create a garden in their own back yard.

They brought in landscape architect Jackson Broussard of Sprout, who planted a living arbor of pear trees to shelter a rustic table in the heart of the garden. Balancing a cottage-garden abundance of poppies, iris, salvia, and roses with an evergreen and architectural backbone of Yucca rostrata, prickly pear, and Italian cypress, he gave the garden year-round structure as well as seasonal color.

Paths thread through the garden to allow for exploration as flowers bloom and fade, and interesting sculptural pieces make focal points amid the flora.

Today the 12-year-old garden is a lovely retreat for the homeowners, who enjoy sitting under the arbor and taking in the sights, sounds, and scents of the garden, which include aromatic plants like osmanthus, cinnamon ginger, garlic, fennel, hoja santa, and bay laurel. Margie especially appreciates how the flowering plants entice pollinators. 

You'll visit this beautiful garden and many others next May if you join us for the Austin Garden Bloggers Fling. Don't miss out -- spaces are going fast. Register for the Austin Fling today!

Minneapolis Fling Preview: Riana's Sculpture Garden

One of the most spectacular gardens that we will visit during the Minneapolis Garden Bloggers Fling is the garden and sculpture park created and nurtured by Wouterina (Riana) de Raad in Beldenville, Wis., about 30 miles from the Twin Cities. This unique garden is so worth the drive that we had to take you to see it. It's like no other garden you have ever seen -- a large rural landscape filled with unusual sculptures, mysterious paths and lush plantings. Riana created it all.

A mosaic artist, Riana has planted large sculptures throughout her gardens: fish benches, huge birds, mermaids, larger than life human figures -- all done in brightly colored mosaics. Much of the furniture is also mosaic.

Riana's art is influenced by her childhood spent in Java, where she grew up the daughter of Dutch parents. She was a fiber artist until she moved to the farm, which had been previously occupied by potters. When they were unhappy with a piece, they would throw it against a tree. Riana picked up the pieces of their broken art and used them to create her garden. The garden is open two days a week during the summer. (She's opening it exclusively to our group on Sunday, the final day of the Fling.)

There are still spots available for the Minneapolis fling. Please register soon to reserve yours. 

Hiding behind the fleece flower, a pink flamingo

Toronto Fling Preview: The Gardens of Cabbagetown

Welcome to Cabbagetown

Toronto is sometimes called a city of neighbourhoods. On the Sunday morning of the Fling, we're delighted to be able to show off one of the prettiest, the Heritage Conservation District once known disparagingly, but now affectionately, as Cabbagetown.

Cabbagetown got its name because the hungry Irish workers who once lived here used their precious garden space to grow cabbages. (The link above takes you to more on its history.) Residents were too poor to tear down and modernize the lovely Victorian townhouses and cottages – and our age is the lucky beneficiary.

We're partnering with the Cabbagetown Preservation Association, who are giving us a pre-opening preview of their annual Hidden Gardens and Private Spaces of Cabbagetown garden tour on the day of the tour, June 7th. Tickets to this tour usually sell out quickly.

Walking one of the area's central blocks, we'll get a peep into five tiny gardens off Magic Lane (one of Toronto's many laneways), look at some charming front gardens along leafy streets, and enjoy private access to two Cabbagetown gardens – created by avid gardeners.

Cabbagetown gardens show what big impact can be created in a small space.

Fling Preview: Shaw Festival gardens, Niagara-on-the-Lake

This art-filled space is one of three very different gardens we'll visit in Niagara-on-the-Lake

We've been lucky on our Niagara excursion to be teaming up with the Shaw Guild Garden Tour, the 10th annual fundraiser for Niagara-on-the-Lake's wonderful Shaw Festival Theatre. Three of the gardens on the tour will be held open, exclusively for us, on our optional Niagara day, Monday, June 8th. And as the tour itself is just the Saturday before, the gardens are likely to be in top form. (For local folk lured to this post, you'll find ticket information at the link above.)

A few places are still available for our Niagara day. Contact Helen at GBFling15 [at] gmail [dot] com. Yes, we will swing by for a photo op at the Falls – from the photogenic Canadian side, natch.

Right on Lake Ontario, with views of Fort Niagara. You'll want to live here. Yes, you will.

Niagara Preview: Irises galore at the RBG Laking Garden

More than 600 types of bearded iris form the backbone of the RBG's substantial iris collection

Our first stop on our optional day in Niagara will be the Laking Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG). The star of this space is the RBG's collection of over 1000 types of iris. This garden was redesigned in 2013, and these pictures were taken very close to Fling time the following year (after what I call the Polar Voldemortex winter of 2013/2014). That means we should be viewing it in the "leap" phase of the sleep-creep-leap adage, even if winter 2014/15 gives us a repeat performance.

If you love irises, this is a chance to get up-close and personal. Here's Iris 'Banish Misfortune.' Great name.

Excellent plant labels and interpretive signs make the Laking Garden educational as well as inspiring.

The Laking Garden is also home to other collections, including peonies, clematis and hostas.

Framed by formal elements, it will be a picturesque way to begin our Niagara excursion.

We're delighted to include this update from Nick Kondrat, Manager of Communications for the RBG:

June is the month for perennials at RBG and this is when the Laking Garden is at its best. Take a tour of the spectacular Iris and peony collections which showcase rare and unusual cultivars from the 20th and 21st centuries. In particular the iris collection is one of the most unique collections of its type in North America. Travel through time and look at breeding trends through the decades, marvel at a complete collection of Dykes Medal winning iris and take a look at the latest trends in Canadian Iris breeding. This experience is an unrivalled and intimate opportunity to experience  these collections for plant connoisseurs up close. We hope to have the pleasure of your company in the Laking Garden on June 8th.

Thanks, Nick! We're looking forward to our visit.

Fling Preview: Two Forest Hill gardens

A small, contemporary garden that still manages to retain a sense of romance

We're delighted that two delightful Forest Hill gardens have agreed to open their gates to us for the Toronto Fling. Call it double delight! These are sneak peek pix only. Stay tuned for more.

A plant-lover's garden around a lovely Arts-and-Craftsy home, with the greenhouse you all want. No, you do.

Fling Preview: The gardens of Toronto Islands

View of Toronto's skyline from a front garden on Algonquin Island – one of the Toronto Islands

On the first afternoon of the 2015 Fling, Friday, June 5, we'll share an experience that's quintessentially Toronto – we'll ferry across the harbour to explore the delightful cottage gardens on the Islands, Ward's and Algonquin. Small, informal, sometimes quirky and always personal, they are a must-see.

As Flingers, we'll enjoy an exclusive preview of the annual Toronto Island Garden Tour, having all afternoon to see the gardens – and the Island – in advance of their official tour days on the Saturday and Sunday, June 6 & 7.  We'll post news as it becomes available.

The Toronto Island Community is unique. The 262 homes here are part of a lush setting that has been a public park since 1887. It's a car-free zone (only Parks vehicles are allowed) and Island gardeners must ferry in anything they need from the mainland, whether manure, garden fencing or statuary, and then hike it to their lots via bike or cart. These are dedicated (and resourceful) gardeners.

When we arrive at the docks, be sure to stick together for our Fling group shot, with the skyline as our backdrop. More information to come as the day draws nigh. Watch this space for updates.

Two of our Toronto Fling organizers, Lorraine Flanigan and Sarah Battersby, stroll down one of the Islands' leafy lanes.

Island gardens are full of cottagey touches, and have a different microclimate than mainland gardens.

After your afternoon, you'll be free to hop the return ferry at your own pace. It's a short walk back to the Fling hotel.

Save the date: Garden Bloggers Fling goes to Toronto

Among other Toronto Fling highlights, garden bloggers will celebrate at the Toronto Botanical Garden in June 2015

Will you be here when, for the first time, the Garden Bloggers Fling ventures beyond the U.S. borders? Yes, on June 5, 6 and 7, 2015 (with an optional day of Niagara gardens being planned for June 8), the Fling will convene in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. That's Canadian Zone 6 and USDA Zone 5, for those playing along at home. And we're creating an exciting itinerary… just for you.

We begin our teasers as we will end our official 3-day get-together, with the location for our Fling dinner, the Toronto Botanical Garden. The TBG is truly rolling out the green carpet for us, and we're thrilled to have their sponsorship as well as their breathtaking setting for our culminating event.

Polish up all your social media accounts (such as Twitter or Instagram), because they'll come in handy, especially at the TBG. The official hashtag for this year's Fling will be #GBFling15.

More details will unfold soon. We're hoping to open our registration early, perhaps before the winter holidays. Warning, especially to Canadian newbies who haven't yet "flung": last year's Fling in Portland sold out in one week. So, be ready, be steady… we'll give you a heads-up before we say go!

The knot garden and a glimpse of the spiral mound

Euphorbia afire beside the perennial lawn

Baptisia and Amsonia in the Oudolf-designed entry garden

The terrace where we'll enjoy our alfresco event. Other surprises, too. Stay tuned…

Fling Preview: Old Germantown Gardens

Tucked away on a wooded parcel near Forest Park, Old Germantown Gardens is a nearly 2-acre hillside garden that is a wealth of garden diversity, including ponds, bog gardens, perennial beds and borders, woodland plantings, rock garden, dry hillside garden, and a greenhouse full of unusual tropical plants.


Each garden habitat is stuffed full of plants - rare, unusual and common ones, too.


Beyond the various types of gardens on this hillside property, visitors will discover a French/Italian-style patio- terrace adjacent to the house.



The terrace includes small decorative pools, a fountain, rill, and waterfall, all contained within hand-chiseled stone walls.


The garden is always evolving and changing - both naturally and by the owners’ guiding hands. Indeed, the past two years have witnessed much editing and renovation of this 23-year- old garden.


After exploring the extensive hillside trails, visitors who may need the added sustenance are welcome to refreshments on the terrace or upstairs deck while taking in a bird’s-eye view of Old Germantown Gardens.