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Northwestern Gardening

NW Flower & Garden Show...Any Tips?

17 years ago

I usually "hang out" in the Winter Sowing forum but thought this was the place to ask about this subject...

I'm flying in to Seattle from North Pole, AK to attend the NW Flower & Garden Show for the first time...Anybody going? Any tips on getting the most from the show? I'm flying in a few days early and plan to attend the show Wednesday & Thursday....I'd welcome any comments on what to expect!...THANKS!

Barbara

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Comments (27)

Mary Palmer
17 years ago
Hi Barbara, I will be there those two days also. I think the best advise is to wear comfortable shoes and perhaps bring your own snacks, as what is available there is kind of spendy and well, you will have had better. I do love the show and will be working at the NHS display outside the main entrance doors between 3-6 PM on Wed! Stop by and say hi!
Embothrium
17 years ago
Go at off times like morning or evening. Much more pleasant. Peak hours crowds (in past years, anyway) so heavy you can't see landscape displays without muscling in, like at a festival seating rock show (don't think Pete and Roger will be there, so you don't have to worry about being trampled, anyway).
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boxofrox
17 years ago
My wife and I like to go fairly early after opening on the first day because the crowds seem manageable and then we can also beat the dinner crowd to the Cheesecake Factory :-) Last year we ended up returning later in the week to help guide a group of seniors from a retirement community through.
Embothrium
17 years ago
If that's where you've been eating you should probably walk home afterward.
devorah
17 years ago
Comfortable shoes is the best advice. I am going to be there with my 8 mo. old granddaughter and her giant stroller. I don't know how that will work out, but mom and dad will be busy selling dahlia tubors (I hope). Baby literally needs a new pair of shoes - or at least knee pads because she is beginning to take off. I hope you all have a good time. "Baby" is over 20 lbs., so I will get a workout. At the last show she was just a small bump - much easier for my daughter to handle.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
17 years ago
I'll be working there Wednesday as well, returning on my own time for an extended tour on Friday. Hope see you both to say "hi", Mary and Glenn, and anyone else who cares to stop by :-) Emery's will be selling Japanese maple seedlings, Heronswood clonal hellebores and lily bulbs. Some good deals available! Glenn, maybe you can find a tiny replacement for your ailing maple.........
schizac
17 years ago
Pam, any seminars/speakers that you highly recommend?
mmegaera
17 years ago
I'm going on Thursday, hoping to get an early start and avoid at least some of the crowds. I'm really looking forward to a color and idea fix more than anything else, although there are a few things I'll be looking to purchase.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
17 years ago
I guess it depends on your interests, Klark. Mine leans towards design issues and specific plants, so I gravitate to those that have some good names attached - Lucy Hardiman, Richard Hartlage, Roger Gossler, Richie Steffen. And since I will be attending Friday, I may try to take in Val Easton's 'Pattern Gardening' presentation - you may have read the discussion of this (she has a new book with the same title) on the Landscape Design forum and I have to admit I don't quite get her point :-) Otherwise, besides Richie, there's not much that piques my interest that day.

And of course any presentation by Dan Hinkley is worth attending - he could talk about the color of mud and it would be immensely entertaining. Too bad he's on Sunday only.......I have to work :-(
dottyinduncan
17 years ago
Does anyone know if plants sold at the show are approved for export to Canada? If I can bring things home, I might be able to talk DH into going...
Embothrium
17 years ago
Check the garden show web site, they used to have something set up for those wishing to take plants to Canada. Don't know if this will be available this year.
mkirkwag
17 years ago
My only advice is that if you're a short person, don't go. :-P
chocolatemoose
Original Author
17 years ago
THANK you ALL for the replies!

I'm looking forward to it and will be prepared to be patient, NOT one of my virtues...

mkirkwag...At 5'2", I am a foot shorter than my Honey. One of his pet names for me is 'Runt'...I am concerned about being tall enough as I am going alone and won't have him to lift me up...LOL

Looking predominately for dahlias, lilies, orchids and 'stuff". I'm bringing an extra suitcase for the tubers/bulbs and 'stuff', but haven't figured out how to get orchids home. I've had problems having them shipped both with and without heat packs. I will chance them somehow, as choices are SO limited up here.

I'll try to track a few of you down to say hello!
Barbara in AK
mkirkwag
17 years ago
Barbara, really take those advisements to go off peak seriously. I'm 4'11", and after the second time, I really did quite going because all I could see was a sea of backs.
boxofrox
17 years ago
Pam,

We'll stop by and see you. I'm working on the next "zone" and need some ideas on how to plant it. I set the posts today for the side fence and gate. If I can get it done in time, I'll click a couple of pics. It's really cool....a combination of cedar/copper fence and arched wrought iron pieces that are going to lead to a tunnel of arbors :-) It's a north-north east facing area with two stories of shade so it's going to be completely different than any other area in my seemingly neverending project. For the first time, I'll be thinking some serious shade!
Terry_R
17 years ago
Arrive early, go get your passes for the seminars you wish to see, then see the main garden displays first before the crowds arrive. If you stay until closing, it thins out a lot!
On the last day, in the afternoon, the orchid show has BIG sales because they don't want to ship their orchids back home again.
If you are going to the seminars, even with a pass, the lines start forming at least 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled seminar, so don't wait until the last minute. On the other hand, those seminar rooms hold hundreds of people, so don't be intimidated by the lines.
Buy cool stuff that speaks to you! I got some great trilliums the year before last, and they are coming up NOW!!!
I'll be going on Thursday and hopefully Sunday because I'm a Hinkley groupie.
Enjoy the show!
devorah
17 years ago
My daughter (the mrs. of Dan's dahlias) said there will be someone to certify any plant material going back to Canada, but they don't work the whole show - you should check their hours as soon as you get there.
devorah
17 years ago
I just looked on the show map and Emery's is just one booth and an aisle from Dan's dahlias, so I will have no problem finding it.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
17 years ago
If any of my GW buddies are planning to stop by Emery's retail booth to say "hi", there's been a late breaking change in my schedule. I'll working there Thursday (rather than Wednesday). And maybe I'll run into some of you as I wander around amusing myself on Friday :-) And be sure to check our container display on the Skybridge - it is not your run-of-the-mill container planting!! Hope everyone who attends enjoys themselves and gets a good dose of early spring fever and comes away ready to start planting!!
mdvaden_of_oregon
17 years ago
Never heard of North Pole, AK before, but I found it on Google Earth - near Fairbanks.

I've never been farther north than Kitimat, BC.

Don't leave your snack money at home.
chocolatemoose
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks again for the tips! I was wondering about the procedure for the seminars, so terry_r's info helped.

I'm flying out of Fairbanks Monday morn to do some shopping, etc. in Seattle on Mon/Tues. Then Wed/Thurs are devoted to the show. I am SO bummed I will miss the orchid sale on Sunday...I'll plan differently NEXT year.

I don't know any of you, but will keep my eye out for any signs of GWebbers. I will be wearing something that either has a rhinestone moose on the front or that says North Pole, AK...SEE ya!

Barbara
hemnancy
17 years ago
If it's any consolation, I bought a few orchids from Hawaii at the Yard and Garden show last year and none have done well, one is about to bite the dust. I do better with orchids from Aitken's Salmon Creek Gardens, at least in keeping them alive, and one actually bloomed this year.:-) I don't know if they can ship to AK. Their irises are great, too.
hemnancy
17 years ago
I just googled Dan Hinkley and apparently he will be in my area a couple of times in June. He seems to have quite a speaking and traveling schedule.

Here is a link that might be useful: Itinerary
azngrnthumbs
17 years ago
Dan's insane! This man is a superhero!

R
boxofrox
17 years ago
Don't want to pooh pooh it for anyone else but the display gardens were pretty so-so and overall it seemed substandard from years past. We usually judge it by how many times the notepad and camera come out of the bag and it was maybe a couple of times, if that. The crowd was pretty heavy though.
Embothrium
17 years ago
So attendance may not have fallen off terribly afterall but the show has been scaled down in anticipation of that. Ha! Most years, including this one (unless I am helping with a booth) I don't think I'm going to go but before it's over...
buyorsell888
17 years ago
I've always wanted to go to this show but it is always around Valentine's Day and I was a florist for 23 years.

This year I just got home from over a week in Seattle for the Jan Gift Show and don't want to go back.

Oh well.....

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