The 2025 Northwest Flower and Garden Festival awarded its Founder’s Cup — the biggest prize of all — to Michael Orr of Method Hardscapes. His installation, “The Salish Retreat,” included a large patio and a handcrafted, timber-framed pavilion with a fireplace made out of four giant boulders, a marvel to behold. But the two jaw droppingly beautiful totem poles, and the story behind them, put this entry above all the rest.

Reached by phone to discuss his win, Orr told me, “It’s been a dream of mine just to be invited to the show, with some of the most talented designers who’ve been there for decades. Just to be a part of it is an honor. And taking the Founder’s Cup trophy…. I froze in my chair.” Orr’s father, uncles and aunt were born and raised on the Flathead reservation in Western Montana. This display was his homage to all indigenous people.

Back in 1980, Marriott opened a hotel near SeaTac airport with an atrium garden featuring grand Ficus trees and five totem poles expertly carved out of cedar logs. The hotel was the place for visiting dignitaries. But by 2012, it was due for a renovation. A Texas-based contractor, hired to remodel the atrium, piled the totem poles and trees in the parking lot, where they sat for two weeks, waiting to be hauled to a dumpster.

In the nick of time, a visionary man who worked for the city of SeaTac rescued the poles. He gave one to a neighbor, one to his son, one to a botanical garden, and kept two for over twelve years. Just a week and a half before the garden show, he sold them to Orr.

The totems, 15’ and 17’ tall, were soaking wet and badly in need of refurbishing. Using a half gallon of Murphy’s Oil Soap, hand tools, and tons of elbow grease, Orr repaired them in same manner and to the level of craftsmanship as when they were built. The paint is original. As he and his crew worked, Orr recalled, “they got nicer and nicer, like peeling an artichoke. The thunderbird is mortise and tenon – affixed with dowels. The eagle beak is in two parts: an upper and lower; same with the wolf’s snout – its nose is the top part and the jaw is the lower mandible. Four fangs were individually hand-carved out of old growth cedar. You can’t even see the grain, it’s so incredibly old. The beak tip was broken off, so we carefully traced it and carved a new piece out of old-growth Western Red Cedar, drilled into the old part and the new beak portion… affixed it with a dowel, and carved it to create a natural curve… painted it in an ivory color to replicate a real eagle beak.” My spine tingled as I heard this incredible story.

“Immersed in Beauty” was the name of a gold-medal winning installation, where a waterfall and stream flowed around three sides of a huge patio. Beckoning you to enter the ethereal space was a giant circular structure, a “moonscape” created entirely out of driftwood. The designer, Landen Moore, commissioned the piece from Jeffro Uitto, an artist well-known for sculpting with centuries-old driftwood pieces collected from the mouths of rivers and coastlines near his home in Tokeland, WA. Stunning.

And here’s the kicker — the competitors have just 72 hours to construct their designs on the convention center floor!

With over 20 display gardens, hundreds of vendors selling everything from bulbs to outdoor furniture, 115 free learning sessions, and workshops (fees varied) the festival was a feast for the eyes. New this year were late afternoon “Travelers Tea” sessions, where, for an additional $90, attendees were treated to a one-hour garden-themed travel talk and high tea, served at beautifully set tables laden with mouthwatering pastries. General admission was included for those who bought tickets to another daily workshop, Blooms and Bubbles, sponsored by the Slow Flowers Society. These hands-on experiences provided attendees with expert guidance and all the materials needed to create and take home a centerpiece or topiary, plus a coupon for one beverage – bubbly, wine, or non-alcoholic.

The dates for next year’s Northwest Flower and Garden Festival have already been announced: Feb. 18-22, 2026. Or, perhaps you can attend the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show. The mother of all garden exhibitions, it takes place in London from May 20-24. You can also experience it vicariously from your armchair at home. The 2015 movie, Dare to Be Wild, screening on Amazon Prime Video, tells the true story of an Irish woman determined to compete at Chelsea. There are so many ways to immerse yourself in beauty!

Meanderings is a travel column by Mindy Stern, a Mercer Island resident whose essays can be found at www.mindysternauthor.com.

Driftwood Moonscape. Photo by Mindy Stern