THE CLOCK IS TICKING, and the countdown has begun to opening day of the 2023 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival.
Already, unflagging creators and installation teams are building display gardens; stocking shelves with garden goods and artful merchandise; and setting the stage to host seminars presented by the top names in horticulture, design and garden writing.
Speaking from experience, the almost-balletic maneuvering of heavy equipment among so many focused workers is both mesmerizing and slightly alarming. But when the curtain lifts on the morning of Feb. 15, visitors will be treated to dazzling blooms and birdsong.
Elaborate and inventive display gardens have been the stars of the festival since it began in 1989. Starting from a taped-off boundary on the floor of the Seattle Convention Center, using plants, hardscape, sometimes water and always hard work, garden creators have just 72 hours to build a theatrical illusion that will have you forgetting that, really, you’re in downtown Seattle in deep midwinter.
This year, some of the 18 main display gardens will transport you to an alpine meadow, a backyard retreat and a walk through all four seasons. West Seattle Nursery, a crowd favorite with several gold medal-winning gardens under its toolbelt, returns with an authentic take on a Pacific Northwest shade garden.
Over on the daylight-flooded skybridge, explore 10 City Living vignettes, small space designs packed with innovative ideas and furnishings for gardeners with limited space. From urban jungle and international fantasy to productive and soothing spaces, these compact displays prove inspiration comes in all sizes.
Family-friendly festival activities include a treasure hunt for kids — win a free plant! — sponsored by T&L Nursery, and “Herb Your Enthusiasm,” presented by Vegepod USA, a hands-on planting station that will have your little ones excited to grow (and hopefully eat) vegetables.
It’s sensory overload in the most delightful way. I recommend you pause for refreshment.
In addition to Convention Center food and beverage outlets, you might want to purchase a glass of wine or a signature cocktail on the show floor before you muster on to the Marketplace, where more than 300 vendors present a tempting array of garden tools, goods for outdoor living, handmade art, home décor and more.
This year’s plant market is bigger than ever and features several new vendors, including Fremont’s own Peace Love and Happiness Club, a local shop and online destination offering the latest rare and exotic houseplant finds. Rest assured, outdoor plant-seeking gardeners will find dahlia tubers, orchids, seeds and tempting specialty plants, all guaranteed to blur the reality of your available planting space.
This year’s list of seminar topics at the NWFG Festival, featuring presenters from near and far — hometown heroes to international stars — reads like a master class on living your best garden life. Nearly 100 seminars, including inspiring and informative illustrated lectures and practical live demonstrations of garden skills, floral design and garden crafts, are filled with plenty of take-home how-to tips for beginning and experienced gardeners alike.
Filled with inspiration, information and blooms galore, the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival is an invitation to suspend our belief (and winter) and escape to spring.
Source: seattletimes.com