Here’s why you should go to the NW Flower & Garden Show, and what you’ll miss if you don’t
The second week of February is when you can start planting your patio pots if you have a protected area and some frost-hardy plants.
This is also the time to make plans to visit the Northwest Flower and Garden Show that runs Feb. 15-19 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. This big indoor garden show is ranked best in the nation due to the spectacular show gardens. You get a sneak peek at spring as designers force trees, shrubs and thousands of bulbs into early bloom to create magical gardens. There will be more than 20 display gardens as well as seminars, plant vendors, gift vendors and special sales on tools, seeds and everything else for outdoor living.
You can buy tickets to the show in advance on the show’s website and at local nurseries, or you can buy tickets at the door. Parking is easy at the Washington Convention Center, and if you get there early, the parking is also covered and secure.
I will be hosting the competition “Container Wars” at 11:30 a.m. on the main stage every day of the show. Two celebrity designers will compete live as the audience decides who has created the best container garden. Garden tips, plant selections and some challenges will be included. The entertainment at the show as well as all the seminars and show gardens are free with the price of admission.
Best Valentine’s gift for gardeners
The NWFG show may start the day after Valentine’s Day but tickets to the show will be the best gift you ever gave a gardener. Up the gifting game by including a night at a downtown Seattle hotel and you can enjoy the show during the evening hours. Hotel deals can be found on the show website that will impress even the dirt-cheap gardener or gift giver.
Best buys at the show
The NWFG show is the place to score great deals for spring planting and spring inspiration. Specialty growers from Oregon and Washington offer plants and bulbs you can’t find anyplace else. There is also a section for antiques and recycled garden art, outdoor furniture and pots. This year there is also a sale on Corona Tools exclusively for show attendees.
Here is what I have bought in the past
Climbing hydrangeas, dwarf hydrangeas, sun-loving hydrangeas: Local and Oregon nurseries bring in potted hydrangea plants ready to plant in the garden now for flowers this summer. I am never disappointed with the selection or quality.
Corona hand tools: I can’t garden without the Corona planting trowel with the cutting ridges on the side and cushioned orange handle. The design and cutting edge makes it the best tool for getting plants out of pots or cutting underground roots in order to remove the side pups from yucca plants or succulents.
Corona also sells a dainty flower snipper with pointy ends perfect for harvesting all those summer blooms. I also like the Corona by-pass pruner better than the classic Felco pruner and it costs so much less.
Lovely lilies: I add lilies to my cutting garden every spring and the NWFG show is the only place where you can find multiple vendors with hundreds of varieties. Why plant the same thing every year? The healthy bulbs you buy at the show will not have to suffer the stress from mailing or sitting in a bin at the nursery for months. They are plump, fresh and ready to be planted. Mine return year after year.
Cool garden art: I have a weakness for recycled glass and rustic materials and every year I find something wonderful to gift to my garden. Last year it was giant blue glass flowers made from glass bowls and ash trays. Before that, it was birds pounded out from recycled metal created in Haiti to support impoverished crafts people. My garden also has terra cotta pots, stone angels, a miniature metal gate, and handmade tiles to celebrate the 36 years I have been attending and speaking at this show.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.