2008 Northwest Flower & Garden Show Springs Into 20th Year

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When the Northwest Flower & Garden Show took root in 1989, it was a small and humble gathering that brought together the region's leading gardening experts. Today, the event has blossomed into an internationally-acclaimed event that showcases the beauty of the Pacific Northwest in ways that are comparable to the world's most respected flower & garden events. Currently North America's third-largest flower show, the 2008 edition will present a range of inspirational, educational and fun activities for gardeners and families throughout the Pacific Northwest. Recognized as one of the world's most renowned flower shows, the Northwest Flower & Garden Show brings the finest horticultural excellence that its founder believes is comparable to London's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Held February 20-24 at the Washington State Convention Center, the Northwest Flower & Garden Show will feature a wide range of full-scale display gardens, more than 120 instructive seminars and hands-on demonstrations, and thousands of the industry's leading gardening products and services. The event annually draws between 60,000 - 80,000 attendees.

The display gardens, at an average size of 1,000 square feet, are the heart and soul of the Northwest Flower & Garden Show. Every winter, the show invites attendees to experience springtime in February with its magnificent, full-sized gardens produced by a select group of nurseries and landscape designers from around the Pacific Northwest.

This year, 26 display gardens will offer attendees garden ideas ranging from the practical to the imaginative amid themes including "Sippy-cups to Wine Stems – Harmonious Family Living for Small Gardens, " "A Backyard Farm – Urban Agriculture in the Northwest" and "Outdoor Haven – Kick Off Your Shoes" to name a few.

New to the show this year, three display patios will portray one of Seattle's most visible trends – the rise in condos and apartments – in a showcase properly titled "Living It Up". Hardwood floors leading to a patio-sized garden look out to a picturesque city backdrop. Each display patio offers practical garden ideas for all condo and apartment dwellers. Also, staged on the Convention Center sky-bridge, are twelve lavish container gardens demonstrating just how creative and grand container plantings can be.

With its free seminar series sponsored by Sunset Magazine, the Northwest Flower & Garden Show offers more talent, more topics and more tips than any other horticulture event – and just in time for spring. Over 120 seminars and hands-on presentations by gardening and design experts cater to the full range of gardeners from newcomers to veterans. Topics will address subjects including container gardening, sustainability and organic gardening, a garden design for new gardens, using color in the garden, specific plants and plant care, gardening for good health, floral arrangement, and much more.

The show will provide a one-stop shopping experience for garden-lovers and do-it-yourselfers from all over the Pacific Northwest. In the marketplace area of the show, attendees can browse and shop for thousands of upscale garden-related products and services from over 300 specially-selected nurseries and other exhibitors. Some of the new and desirable items this year include innovative low voltage lighting designs, eclectic cold worked steel garden elements, the all new "Hawk Eye Color Nature Cam" and a pink ratchet-cut hand pruner.

Catering to families with young children, show planners are designating an entire area devoted to young gardeners in "Sproutopia: A Place for Kids!" The show offers plenty of activities to excite blossoming gardeners with hands-on demonstrations and a variety of singing and story time activities on The Sprout Stage. Children can observe the miniature gardens prepared by elementary school students, engage in a pea-planting activity that teaches them how to grow plants and enjoy a picnic lunch at the show. Free childcare will also be provided at the show.

The 20th annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show will take place February 20 - 24, 2008 at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. The cost of admission, which includes entrance to gardening seminars, is $19 for adults, $8 for students 25 and under with valid student I.D., $3 for ages 6 – 17 and free for children under 5. Show hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday thru Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

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