APLD International Conference 2019
Design at the Intersection of Vision, Community and Resilience

Susie Thompson, FAPLD
Local Site Committee Chair

The annual APLD International Conference is just around the corner. It's July 25-29, and in case you haven't heard it's right here in Seattle. All conference events and transportation to off-site activities will be at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown.

Pre-conference starts Thursday with a ferry ride to the Kitsap Peninsula to tour gardens that include Bloedel Reserve, Heronswood, which is the former residence and gardens of Dan Hinkley and Windcliff, which is the current home and gardens of Dan Hinkley. Spectacular views and a plethora of rare and unusual plants await you. If you'd like to see lush gardens in the Seattle business district, then sign up for the walking tour. These tucked away gardens provide green space in an urban environment and are all within walking distance of the Renaissance Seattle Hotel. For the evening it's back to the hotel, and opening reception is scheduled at 6:30pm at the Amazon Spheres. You'll spend the evening in a lush paradise of more than 40,000 plants from forest regions of 30 countries.

Main conference starts on Friday. The day is filled with featured speakers that will inform, educate and inspire. Topics range from techniques for project management, designing with ecology in mind, keeping chemicals out of the landscape, designing for complexity and diversity, and Dan Hinkley will present a timeline and history of the development of the Windcliff Garden. There's something for everyone, and at the end of the day you can enjoy dine-around—an opportunity to spend the evening with colleagues, old or new, and talk shop.

Saturday is garden touring in Seattle and includes a lunch-stop at historic Dunn Gardens. You'll see gardens by Randy Allworth, Richard Hartlage and Scot Eckley as well as a gravel garden designed by an artist-homeowner along with help from APLD members Phil Wood and Jason Jorgensen. The gardens are diverse, even eclectic, and you'll see an appealing mix of styles that include formal, informal, modern and traditional. Architectural styles vary, and site conditions range from woodland shade to near-Mediterranean of sunny and dry which makes for challenging plant selection—wet feet in the winter and hot, dry conditions in the summer. See how gardens are influenced more and more by strict local codes that regulate stormwater runoff, wetland preservation, stream, lake, salmon and wildlife protection and more. The day ends at the hotel for the awards reception. Relax, enjoy hors d'oeuvres and beverages while viewing the awards exhibition.


Sunday's tour gardens are located on the east side of Lake Washington in Bellevue and Kirkland, as well as Medina. Sweeping views of the lake and/or the Seattle skyline, as well as stands of native fir trees are a backdrop for many of these elegantly designed gardens. You'll enjoy the surrounds of exclusive neighborhoods, and gardens by two of our own APLD members, Alan Burke, ASLA and Tina Nyce, FAPLD. The day ends at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens for the farewell reception. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres and beverages as you stroll along the trails of this 53-acre botanical gem that offers vignettes of Asian influence, spectacular perennial borders, a rain garden, a water-wise garden and woodland ravine.


Post-conference on Monday features garden tours on Vashon Island. The day starts with a garden in West Seattle, designed by Virginia Hand; then it's a ferry ride to Vashon. You'll visit several private gardens, a public garden venue—Froggsong, and Jonathan Morse will share a designer's laboratory. To complete your Vashon Island experience you'll be treated to wine and a light snack at the end of the day.


Conference offers professional growth, inspiration, opportunity to earn CEUs, and more! If you've never been to a conference, then this is your chance. Registration is open; go to www.apld.org What are you waiting for? Register now! No excuses—conference is in your backyard this year. Join your APLDWA colleagues in hosting this year's conference, welcoming our colleagues from other parts of the country, and showcasing Seattle as the premier landscape and garden design community that it is!

I look forward to seeing you there.

Susie Thompson, FAPLD
Local Site Committee Chair