Details Home & Garden @detailshomeandgarden Booth in 2023
I want to invite you to the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, my favorite event of the year. The show is in the Seattle Convention Center in Seattle from Weds Feb 14 - 17 from 9:00am - 8:00pm, Sunday Feb 18 from 9:00am - 6:00pm. Let me start by saying that the show is grand, imagine if Willy Wonka was into flowers. It has 20 huge show gardens (with an estimated 30,000 forced plants & trees trumpeting spring), a City Living section where designers focus plants & plans that urban dwellers can use to maximize their garden life. There's a huge plant market, a quirky Vintage Market and a staggering number of vendors selling art and design pieces. I'm going to expound on it below (and during the show) but it is an unreasonable feat and that is what makes it so fabulous. The show is all indoors and designed to inspire. This year I have been asked to judge 2 of the prestigious awards given and I can't wait to get at it.
This year’s theme is “I Love Spring.” Built by the region’s best designers and landscape professionals, these show gardens are a breath of fresh air. The outside is brought indoors. Green grass, blooming trees, flowing water, camellias flowering and a carpet of bulbs in bloom – it is the reassurance of spring that we all need in February.
Each year I spend hours walking the show and then when I need a rest, I soak up knowledge at seminars covering everything from caring for succulents in the Pacific Northwest to How to Transplant & Root Prune for Healthier Container Plants. The breadth of content covered in the seminars is staggering and more than half of the speakers are GWA (now known as GardenComm) members. Impressive. The coursework available is like a "garden university" and I want you to look at the schedule a head of time and really plan which day suits you best. Here is a link to this year's seminar schedule. Pick a class, any class, they are all free to attendees.
An unexpected part of the show is the Vintage Market—booths crammed with up-cycled and vintage items, often planted with primulas or violets to give them a je ne se quoi. Charming and fresh, this section of the show inspires us all to work with what we have, to create meaningful and storied displays in our home. Last year I bought bundles of paper-wrapped pussywillow branches and an aqua drinks pitcher. You never know what you'll find and that's the fun.
Another neat event each day at 11 am is called Container Wars. Skilled garden experts take each other on in a healthy container design competition. Presented by Cascade Water Alliance, Crescent Garden, Corona Tools, and Sunnyside Nursery, Container Wars is hosted by Seattle's beloved gardening columnist and television host Marianne Binetti. Be sure to make your way over and watch Container Wars live to get great tips on planting your own container garden.
As you look ahead to the show, you can book a slot at Blooms & Bubbles presented by Debra Prinzing of SlowFlowers.com. During each session, a floral designer teaches a flower or plant inspired hands-on design workshop. Debra answers questions and encouraged the designers to share tips and tricks during their segment. The crowd loves these events and I encourage you to wander over and watch, even if you haven't booked one of the classes.
Wanna shop more? There are garden retail booths galore, merchandised to within an inch of their lives. I am so proud how (in just 72 hours) they can create a store out of thin air. My favorite booth is Ravenna Gardens and I always buy from them to give show them my love. And how about pure plants, bulbs or citrus trees? Don't forget, there is a whole plant market dedicated to selling specific varieties orchids, houseplants, dahlia tubers, succulents. It is wonderful.
I will be judging Tuesday (yay!) and then supporting the show vendors and speakers on Weds & Thursday and then on Friday we have our GardenComm Regional Meeting & Post Show Happy Hour. Plus I've got a large group of Junior League of Seattle members meeting up with me to see the show for the first time. It's going to be a big week! Please look for me and say Hello. I always carry one of my ANA Delight totes, so you’ll know its me.
My hope is that my words reach you. That you call up a girlfriend and make time to attend the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival this year; I know that you will love it and you must share what inspired you.
I hope you have a wonderful growing season ahead of you and may the internet connect us like far-flung cousins until we meet again, hopefully at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival.
#NWFGF #seattle #gardenshow #plantcollector #beautyofeverydaylife #gardener
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