I want to share a GRAND experience I had a month ago (time flies). It included the following:
- being on an island
- being surrounded by beautiful flowers
- meeting some famous garden gurus
- touring 12 gardens
In the mind of a plant geek, (that would be me) all those items listed above spells F-U-N!!! And a fun two days it was at The Grand Garden Show on Mackinac Island!!
About 700 people attended the event, held at you guessed it, the Grand Hotel. The show included some great speakers, P. Allen Smith (as seen on PBS), Jamie Durie (as seen on HGTV & Oprah) and the man behind the beauty on Mackinac Island, Jack Barnwell (Barnwell Landscapes).
This is Jack Barnwell, the man behind the beauty of Mackinac Island, giving a garden tour.
Let’s get on to the good stuff, the garden tours! Oh yes, two afternoons filled with bike riding (no motor vehicles allowed on the island) from property to property to see the beautiful landscapes. There were 12 properties on the tour and none disappointed, each having it’s own personality. It was really really really hard for me to narrow down the pictures that I wanted to share with you!
There are over 350 hanging baskets on the island.
What a welcoming entrance!
One of my favorite stops on the tour was Hotel Iroquois, the flowers were amazing!! All the pictures above were from Hotel Iroquois.
This location wasn’t even on the tour but I thought it was beautiful!
The turtles of Mackinac Island, like the famous cows on parade. (don’t know about this, check it out here cowparade.com) Native Americans likened the shape of the island to a turtle, naming the island “Michimakinak” meaning big turtle. An artist on the island made these turtles, each with their own personality and you can see them in various locations around the island.
Isn’t this fun! A life-sized chess board in your backyard.
Love this gate!
Look closely you’ll see a monarch butterfly!
Another turtle! I would love one of these in my yard, so fun!
Thought this was a striking combo!
Amazing!!!
I do love the flowers but I also love the architecture of the homes too!
Did I tell you how hard it was for me to narrow down the pictures I wanted to share? I must have had over 200 photos. Unbelievable!!!
The Grand Garden Show is open to anyone and the dates for next year have already been set. For more info check out grandgardenshow.com if you want to have a grand time of your own! See you there!
