Northwest Flower and Garden Show Wrap-up

salmon swimming down stream

Now that the Northwest Flower and Garden Show has come and gone we can look back on some of the highlights of the show. I think the quality of the display gardens was as good as it has been in several years. The judging is done on a point system so it is easy to tell the quality just by the number of gold and silver awards.

very cool plantings

Besides the display gardens the numerous market place vendors would keep anybody busy. They had offerings from plants, garden tools, garden ornaments and art. Then there was the whole vintage market, which for a picker like me was quite fun. I did find a few things that I just had to bring home.

Winning Display from Sky Nursery

In the entry there was a floral competition which many local designers take very seriously creating some amazing displays. On the sky-bridge there was a container, vignette competition which is always very creative and diverse.

Greg, Karin and Barbara

I spent most of my time in the resource area. It is the area to find booths to answer a lot of your gardening questions. There were groups specializing in everything from day lilies to roses and public gardens to native plants. I was working at the booth for the Northwest Horticultural Society and the Pacific Horticulture Society. NHS is the one of the largest education non-profit organization. We do a series of education events including monthly lectures, symposiums, tours, classes and plant sales. PHS produces the finest gardening magazine in the country which focuses on the west coast. PHS also has a wonderful tour program and a series of educational events.

color galore

For the serious hort-head the lecture series is unbeatable. There were three separate stages with lectures on each running from morning until night. It’s no wonder this show is so popular. In fact it is the second largest in the country so for those of you from out of the area it might be a good winter break next year.