Arriving in Seattle last week for the Northwest Flower & Garden Show was like traveling to the tropics from Siberia. A cold snap in the mid-Atlantic had its icy hold on the region and when I landed in Seattle, I shed all my gloves, jackets and scarves with relief and basked in mid-60’s weather. Flowers were in full bloom outside and native Seattleites assured me that the warmth was unusual weather this early in the season.

Camellias and Hellebores were in bloom everywhere.

I had never been to the Northwest Flower  & Garden show but was doing two presentations there and was very impressed with the size and scale of the show. A heart (It was Valentines weekend) of thousands of succulents towered over the front entrance to the show.

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show  floor was acres of blooming flowers, vendors, and gardening ideas that I spent two full days exploring.

The Steam Punk Garden and the Bee Friendly Garden were two of my favorite displays.

After doing my speaking duty, I was free to explore.

The show had lots of interesting vendors and it never got too crowded like the Philadelphia flower show where you are always bumping into people trying to get a closer look.

 Vendors

For vendors, I was expecting the usual mix of home improvement companies and jewelry and scarf vendors. But I was proved wrong with the quality and selection of down to earth garden vendors. A gardener could get into real trouble here!

I was especially interested in a Cedar Cold Frame kit to extend my growing season. See them at http://www.cedarcoldframes.com/ , but the kit was too bulky to take on a plane. I will probably order one for the spring. The cold frames were well made and they even had one that was table height so you didn’t have to bend over. Also Charley’s Greenhouses had an awesome display and I am seriously considering buying one. I need the triple wall, cedar frame “Northern Heritage” one. I will put this on my Christmas list!

 

The vintage gardening section was incredible. I have never seen vintage vendors at a gardening show before. See my post at Vintage Gardening  to see the different kinds of products you could buy. I went through the area three times! How about repurposing an old sink into a potting bench? Or making a hanging container out of an old funnel?

Chihuly glass is everywhere in Seattle gardens because Dale Chihuly was born in Washington State. We went to the Chihuly gardens and museum in downtown Seattle and I will do a post on that garden later as it was so incredible. But you could buy your very own Chihuly knock off in the market place for quite a bit less than the real thing.

 The flowers of course were stunning with the orchid display especially beautiful. There was a meadow of orchids presented by the Northwest Orchid Society.

 

 

Gardening in February is still going on here in the mid-Atlantic even though we have an arctic blast! For  some of my winter tips on the best way to start seeds, go to Hartley Botanic’s gardening calendar.