This weekend Pamela, our friend Kim, and I headed to the beautiful Rosecliff mansion for the annual Newport Flower Show. This year’s theme was Salsa and the participants sure did their best to spice things up! We were greeted by this man of moss (and we must bring your attention to that amazing rose covered trellis in the background).

I love the fern details…

and the acorns buttons! No detail overlooked on this one.

And then there was the moss horse pulling a vintage gypsy wagon.

I was thinking this would be a great little trailer to have for our trips to polo or our beach parties this summer, but…

it turns out that gypsy fortune tellers were pretty fancy. The mahogany wouldn’t really set the tone I’d want at my beach parties! Who knew the gypsies lived so well?

Next time you’re headed to Carnival consider making your headdress and wrap out of bird of paradise, roses, and palm leaves.

Here are some of the award winners in various categories.

Many florists incorporated peppers into their arrangements.

These braided leaves were pretty amazing.

And several of the arrangements were in the teeny tiny category, but they still packed a big punch.

Some even managed to work some Tangerine Dream into their arrangements.

The Hosta varieties were incredible ranging from as little as two inches in size probably two feet.

And the roses, oh the roses!

We were particularly smitten with this James Galway rose.

And I just love this Modern Rose. It was as close to a peony as I’ve ever seen without being one and would be a great substitute for my favorite flower.

I’ve never seen Lillies so large as the ones displayed at this show.

Hydrangeas are just classic beauty.While Foxgloves don’t usually catch my eye, these ones were real stunners. The blue and white combination looked almost unreal, and I love the way that the single stem when guided upright with a vase filler looks like a floral topiary. I think they could be striking and inexpensive single stem centerpieces with the right vessel.

The outdoor vignettes that were set up at the entrance to Rosecliff were really quite stunning. I loved the giant vessel filled with succulents in this one.

I’m always looking for ways to use those beautiful old rusted iron grates, and putting a wood frame around it like they did here really makes it stand out while also bringing into modern times.

These ceramic outdoor lanterns were just stunning! I will find out who makes them and let you all know.

You don’t need a big pond to have a water garden.

This tile and gravel combination added nice visual interest to an often overlooked part of the garden.

I’m not sure which I love more here, the Pergola by Trellis Structures or the pots of Agapanthus lining the walkway under it.

Although we were a little baffled by what the purpose of all those mirrors on it were for.

You might think that this was enough, but we have so much more to show you! This is where all the vendor booths were set up on the back lawn and we had a lot of fun catching up with friends–both new and old–out here and can’t wait to share some of their amazing new offerings. Let’s just say they were quite happy we stopped by as some of us made some fabulous purchases. Stay tuned!

And don’t forget to mark your calendars now for next year’s Jade themed Newport Flower Show from June 21-23, 2013.