Northwest Flower & Garden Show

We’re here in Seattle for one of our favorite annual events. If you are anywhere near Seattle come this week for the what may be the last hurrah at a truly great gardening show. The show gardens never fail to please, Judith Jones and her troop from Fancy Fronds has created a fantasy “The King and I” garden, with wonderful design, details, costumes, and a glorious abundance of  flowering plants, ferns, and shrubs. Judith is a recognized expert on ferns. Over at another garden space an artist  from Costa Rica is creating an intricately carved mask that he told us takes six days to complete. This garden is designed by The Northwest Orchid Society. Entering the show is a garden of four seasons with quilts and plants. It is my favorite entry garden of all the shows I’ve seen. I hope someone takes on this show where February blooms in Seattle. Duane and Alice Kelly, show founders are ready to move on to other things and this show would not be the class act it is without their passion and energy.

This morning I gave a talk on Practical Home Propagation, those who attended pretty much filled the available chairs and were all so gracious to sit through the talk and ask good questions at the end. I’m happy to see more gardeners growing vegetables,  growing from seed, and beginning to feel a little more confident. Only a few years ago I was seeing people’s eyes grow wide as they would say”me, grow from seed, I’m not sure I could do that”. My answer always is a hearty response ” of course you can, your ancestors have been doing this for thousands of years”. I haven’t heard this for awhile, so either gardeners are growing from seed with confidence or I’ve been giving a lot of talks on seed starting.