Elandan Gardens (3/24/07)

Elandan Gardens is one of my favorite places in Washington. They specialize in bonsai, which is not particularly interesting to me, but the site itself and the overall garden design are phenomenal.



When you drive in, you have to slow down to miss the Buddha head in the road. It's your first sign that this place moves at a much different pace than the highway you just turned off of.



Before we go into the garden itself, let's bum around the parking lot area and look at plants they have for sale, rock sculptures that they're working on, and other gorgeous things that are lying around here and there.



















OK, I'm ready now. Let's give the nice girl $5 and tour the garden.



This one looks like a person to me.

















This Sierra Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) dates from 1540.







After leaving Elandan and heading toward Bremerton, we saw a bald eagle (on top of the pylon closest to the water).



And a battleship.

Peninsula Gardens (3/24/07)

Peninsula Gardens was a pretty standard nursery. I'll show you just a few photos.

But first we need to drive west across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Looks like they're almost finished with the new one.



It's raining hard.



They just opened their espresso shop on Friday, and they have a $1 special on lattes all weekend. The biscotti was also $1.



Not really my thing, but these ceramic planters are pretty pretty.



This kind of looks like a jack.



Right now I'm liking spruces.



I like purple foliage next to yellow blossoms.

A Trip to West Seattle (3/24/07)

The grayest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle.



A cute front yard.



The view of Puget Sound from my friends' house.



The wallpaper in their basement.



Rebar as yard sculpture.

Beacon Hill Photos (3/24/07)

Galaxie's mural of buildings on Beacon Hill.



The TV repair shop sign.



My proscuitto / fig / goat cheese sandwich from Galaxie. Hallelujah.



The entrance to the Beacon Hill library.



The lovely 12th Ave. S. viewpoint.



I love this house that's being built near the 12th Ave. S. viewpoint. Very much.



Aluminum windows, natural wood siding.



Cement pavers in different sizes.



Tall ceilings, a view of Duwamish industry.



Wraparound deck.



Huge eaves.



Honestly, they ought to just give me this place. I can't imagine anyone else appreciating it half as much as I would.

A Couple Beacon Avenue Shots from 3/22/07

The lovely little Galaxie coffeehouse. Inside, the owner is painting a sky-view mural of all the property lines on Beacon Hill. I asked him if he'd get as far south as the haunted Comet Lodge Cemetery near my house, and he said yes (though that would probably be on the cabinet instead of the wall). I'll get an indoor shot sometime, promise. Maybe today--the prosciutto, fig, and goat cheese baguette sandwiches they recently added to their menu sound amazing.



And El Quetzal, the delicious little Mexican place. The owner's from Mexico City and makes really simple, tasty dishes. The only thing that place needs is a liquor license! The TV/VCR/etc. repair shops next door has my favorite sign in the whole neighborhood. It's lovingly hand-painted, and I believe all the words are spelled right.




OK, I'll throw in one more, although this one may not properly reflect this post's "appealing" tag. Here's a townhouse going up on 15th Avenue South, I think. Hopefully once 20 or so more of these go up, Beacon Hill will get the wine bar of my dreams. And that's a very appealing prospect, indeed.