This week marks the beginning of the 33rd annual Northwest Flower and Garden Festival, which will run Feb. 15-19 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. This year’s festival should be the 34th, but Covid shut it down in 2021.
This is a world-class production that is sure to get you in the mood for the upcoming gardening season. Every year I come away with some new ideas, a few new plant purchases and an overall renewed excitement for gardening. If you have yet to partake in this event, you really should consider going this year.
I have attended every show since its inception in 1989, and I have never been disappointed. There truly is something for everyone. The 20-plus display gardens are the focal point of the show and are designed to inspire us as well as educate and entertain. Some are whimsical and some serious, some bold and expansive, and others intricately detailed, but all will pique our senses. What is truly amazing is that these gardens are created in less than 72 hours with some big equipment and an army of passionate volunteers; It would be an understatement to say that they are a labor of love.
The show gardens are of course just one facet of this production. There are purchasing opportunities up the wazoo. Hundreds of commercial booths await your arrival (including Sunnyside’s). Attendees can purchase new and cool plants, garden gadgets that make our gardening lives easier and all sorts of garden art. It’s hard not to come away with some new treasure. My yard is littered with purchases that are a constant reminder of the good times my wife and I had at past shows. Don’t worry about packing purchases around while trying to enjoy everything, the show will store things for you while you continue shopping. Just don’t forget to pick them up at the end of the day.
Another feature of the show is the seminars — more than 90 are being presented during the five days of the show. In the past, we could learn how to grow mushrooms, prune fruit trees, design with gold foliage, divide perennials, install a micro-spray irrigation system, garden successfully in dry sun or shade, press flowers, build a fence, make an herbal candle, train your dog to stay out of the garden, and so on and so forth. For a list of this year’s topics, go to the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival’s website.
If you are an apartment or condo dweller with limited space, check out the patio garden displays on the Skybridge. These are clever designs that will show you how to best utilize your specific spaces if you don’t have an actual yard.
Finally, just for the fun of it, don’t miss the Container Wars event that happens every day from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the main stage. This is a fast-paced free-for-all where garden celebrities duel it out to create inspiring combinations, all while the clock is ticking. It is crazy-good fun!
Hopefully you have been planning on attending this event for months now and have already purchased your tickets and arranged for transportation and lodging. Even if you can only get away for a half day, it is well worth the time and effort. By now, we are all sick and tired of winter and nothing will get us salivating for spring faster than a good old-fashioned garden show.
Steve Smith represents Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at sunnysidenursery@msn.com.
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