- Jul 30

Puget Sound Fling 2024 - That's a wrap!

Enormous thanks to co-planners Camille Paulsen and Paula Rothkopf for hosting the Puget Sound Fling and putting together such a spectacular lineup of gardens, events, and community for us! Approximately 100 garden bloggers, Instagrammers, YouTubers, TikTokers, podcasters, and others sharing about gardening online spent the weekend touring gardens in the Tacoma-Seattle area, socializing and networking and even participating in impromptu dance videos. Paula and Camille, you showed off your region beautifully and created an unforgettable event. Thank you!

Puget Sound attendees at the Brindley Garden. Photo courtesy of Becca Mathias.

Co-planners Paula Rothkopf and Camille Paulsen

Here's a message from Paula and Camille:

"The planning of the Fling kept us busy for many, many months. But throughout this journey, a number of people gave their time and energy to help. We'd like to thank these key individuals:

Loree Bohl, our point person on the Fling advisory committee, who provided continual advice and feedback on so many decisions.
Gillian Mathews, who came up with the idea of an optional Seattle tour day and was a key player in its planning.
LaManda Joy for designing and creating the sponsor brochure.
Idelle Fisher of Pickle-Wix Web Design for designing and creating the Fling Guide and Sponsor Directory.
Jean McWeeney for adding all 100 names to our blog post on Fling attendees.
Camille’s daughters, Marian for designing the 2024 logo and Louisa for creating the name tags.

Then there were all the folks who helped out during the Fling weekend, including these special people:

Dirk Paulsen, Camille’s husband, who did all the shopping for the food, snacks, and spirits. He was there every morning making sure our buses had everything we needed for each day.
Pilar Hernandez, Sue Goetz, and Gillian Mathews for their help stuffing 100+ swag bags and greeting our attendees at the welcome desk.
The bus captains, Gillian, Sue, Cindy Funes, and Erica Browne Grivas, who spoke about each garden and kept us on schedule.

We'd also like to thank all of our amazing garden hosts, who welcomed our Fling community by sharing their beautiful gardens. We're grateful to everyone who attended the Fling from all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe, who spent the weekend enthusiastically touring gardens with us. Last but not least, thank you to our sponsors, who were integral to the success of the Fling. As we know from experience, it takes a Fling army to build something great!"

Blogs and videos about Puget Sound Fling

If you joined us on the Fling this year, we'd love to read your blogs and watch your videos about it. So would the garden owners, sponsors, and the gardening public. To help us find your posts as you publish over the weeks and months ahead, please share your links on our official Facebook page with hashtag #gardenfling2024, and/or share your URL in the comments below. We'll keep this page updated with links as we receive them, with the latest at the top.

GardenBook: Cramscape Admiration -Garden Fling 2024

Danger Garden: Nancy Heckler's garden, during the Puget Sound Fling

Botanica Chaotica: Gray Garden

Digging: Tiki-style pond and lush courtyard at the Galicic Garden

Digging: Living on the edge in the Livingston Garden

Late to the Garden Party: Fling visit to Heronswood Garden

The Paintbox Garden: Colour, Drama & Sophisticated Design in a Tacoma Garden

Digging: The elegant Pepper Garden with a water view

Digging: Playfulness and planters in the garden of Richard Hartlage

Late to the Garden Party: The Paulsen Garden, one of the Puget Sound Fling highlights

Digging: Floating on an evergreen cloud in the garden of Tanya Bednarski

Digging: Taming a hillside with terraces and sculpture in Bonnie Berk’s garden