Every February I look forward to the North West Flower & Garden Show. It is by far my most inspiring source of gardening information, it’s a place for growers to present new plants, designers to display their talents, and gardeners to search for inspiration. Every year new trends are started, this year there was a heavy influence of plants from New Zealand and both displays and merchants were busy featuring antiques for the home and garden. The use of the tropical plants, French antique urns, and old gates was delightful.

Journey down the many new paths was the theme at this year Seattle Garden Show. Each path allowed all the visitors to get up close to the magnificent displays and absorb themselves with inspiration and awe. Truly amazing is how the designers transform the conference centre into paradise, and even more mystifying is how they can put together such large lavish displays. This year their were 27 award winning displays influenced by many gardening styles, such as tropical, Zen, woodland, healing, and for the romantic, a wedding garden. With all this to choose from everyone was sure to leave the show pleased and full of ideas.

Although the display gardens are perhaps the most impressive part of the show, it is only a small portion. Another highlight is the extensive seminar program. Sunset magazine sponsors the always educational and entertaining seminars, featuring well-known speakers such as Ann Lovejoy, Dan Hinkley, Chris Woods, and Brian Minter. A few favourite topics this year were fragrant plants for the winter garden, a passion for perennials, and container gardening trends.

Another highlight and very popular part of the show were the orchid and bonsai show. What a fantastic opportunity to view thousands of orchids and hundreds of breath taking bonsai. And if that weren’t enough, should I even begin to talk about the educational booths, flowing with gardening information, miniature gardens, window box competition, and over 300 plant and product merchants!

As usual there was the token trendy plant, and if you were the merchant who was selling it you were going to have a successful show. I remember five years ago the trendy plant was the orchid, literally every second person was making their way through the show balancing a flat of pansy faced orchids, but not me, “I’m not into fads.” Then the next year it was pussy willows, then curly willow, then forced apricot blooms, still didn’t interest me, I was not going to be influenced by what any else was doing, until this year, I caved in and became trendy and full of zonal denial. Its strange how these things happen, I remember I was admiring a stunning mosaic tiled bird bath, when a women walked by with the most beautiful green, chartreuse tree in a plain paper bag. Could this be the trendy plant of the year? Well sure enough a quick glance led me to view many chartreuse beauties. Then I saw the swarms of people going crazy for these little trees. Not going to do it, what do I need that for, they are cute, what a great colour, then I’ll need a phytosanitary to get it across the border, no I promised no plants this year, and besides if I get this then I’ll buy all the plants I saw. And I left, it was that easy. Then the slippery slope began, just as I was leaving the display garden, I heard a women say to her husband, “That is so cute, I love that combination.” And as I turned around there it was planted up in a glazed blue urn, identical to the urn I have. No, fight it, walk away. “Those are cute aren’t they, everyone is buying them.” I say to the man, “Their only $10.00, aren’t they fabulous.” “Why don’t you have one, are they sold out?” he asks, “No, I don’t know why I don’t have one.” For one of the first times in my life I was at a lost for words or thought. The next thing I knew I was running back to the merchant, pushing, shoving, determined. I was going to be like the rest, I wanted to carry a little brown bag with a chartreuse beauty. As the sales person started to tell me about the plant I still thought maybe not, …then she said the magic words “Their not quite hardy.” That was all I needed to hear, one more plant for the living room, keep all the tibouchinas and echeverias company. And as the man placed my precious Monterey Cypress ‘Wilma Goldcrest” into the bag I said, “Wait, I’ll take two.” This Cypress is a slow growing conifer with a maximum height of 9 feet, and it must be protected in the winter. The soft chartreuse foliage was what caught my heart.

The North West Flower & Garden Show is one of the worlds largest and finest; it will inspire any gardener of any level with its sights, sounds and aromas of springtime. Next year it will be held Feb 6 –11 2002 at the Seattle Conference Centre.