Call Your Friends: Plan an Afternoon at Northwest Flower and Garden Show

Check your calendar and call your friends. The Northwest Flower & Garden Show will delight attendees from February 7-11 at the Washington State Convention Center. 

To me, it seems almost silly to bill this show as one for gardeners. Its a show for people and I insist you come check it out.

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show is designed to delight every possible kind of gardener. In truth, the show covers such a wide range of interests and skill levels, I can't imagine someone that wouldn't enjoy exploring the show.

Consider these broad interests:

• full scale examples of how to design a backyard for entertaining
• a vendor selling every possible dahlia tuber ready to plant
• a tasting corner dedicated to selling craft food made by local artisans
• a seminar on how to plant succulents into a vertical art piece
• a vendor selling in lavender products made in the Pacific Northwest
• a lecture on how to attract bees and butterflies to your yard
• a garden center set up to sell books, terrariums and air plants for apartment living.

Visually, you will be astonished by the scale and beauty of the 20 large display gardens. Flowering trees, giant boulders, live moss and spring bulbs are woven together to create themed vignettes all celebrating this year's theme: A Taste of Spring. This portion of the garden show is all for show. Stand and soak it in.

Take pictures and imagine incorporating some of the scale-able elements into your own backyard. The popularity of Northwest Flower and Garden Show goes far beyond these impressive display gardens. There are also living plants of all varieties for sale (succulents, fern, ivy, seeds, bulbs) in the Plant Market. I know, it's a lot.

The selection of garden and flower related products to shop for in the 350-vendor Marketplace is second to none. Need flower arranging tools, garden baskets, bonsai scissors or oilcloth aprons? They've got you covered. 

In my opinion, access to the Marketplace alone is worth the price of admission.

Looking for a concrete ideas and a chance to mull over what you've seen so far? Look at the schedule and take a seat in one of the 100 free how-to presentations.

Ready for lunch? There are great choices this year from salads and pasta, to soups, burgers and cheese platters, in addition to craft beer and regional wine.

There is more to tell, of course. Floral competitions to judge. Garden War competitions to cheer. Landscapers to hire. A garden society to join. I will be attending the show this year and delving in more deeply to be able to give you a tailored look at the show and I promise to post in a timely manner.

 

"Good Times, Great Food" by Nature Perfect Landscape & Design)

Enjoying the show is easy, doing justice to it is the hard part!

Show is open Wednesday, Feb 7 - 10 from 9am- 8pm, and Sunday, Feb 11 from 9 am - 6 pm. #NWFGS #gardenparty #seattle #seattletimes #seattlerefined

12 Days of Valentine's Day

Celebrating the 12 Days of Valentine's Day helps make lovely gestures a habit. It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and yourself. Wear a pink sweater one day, put red food coloring in your cake batter, set the table with red place mats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people.

There is no set schedule. There isn't a "number" relationship between the days (meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10).  Nope, you just do what feels right and fits into your schedule on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  

When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, tell her it's The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it. And let me know how your coworkers and friends respond. 

Day 1: Call an old friend to talk.