Northwest Flower & Garden Show

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show currently occupies the Washington State Convention Center through the end of the weekend. Per my usual habit, I took the day off from work to attend the first day of the show and have an early pick of plants and bulbs for sale. Outside the convention center much of the landscaping had been recently "pruned" - or more accurately butchered - like this rhodie. An inauspicious beginning!

Inside the main show entry point was this enormous heart made entirely of succulents. I hope someone salvages them afterwards. That's a lot of cuttings!

 

Inside the large display gardens were poorly and gloomily lit, so no pictures of those. I assume the lights are kept low to prevent plants from drying out prematurely, but it makes for difficult viewing and even harder photographing. The sky bridge of the convention center is lit by daylight and had some smaller display gardens. Here is part of a display garden featuring Fatsia polycarpa, which I lusted after. These are never available in my neck of the woods, and especially not in this size.

The merchant areas were also better lit, fortunately. Christianson's Nursery was front and center with a display reminiscent of their greenhouses:

They had a few choice plants for sale, including this small Wollemia. It's nice to see these finally common in cultivation and commerce.

There seemed to be fewer nurseries represented this year, which was disappointing. The usual orchid vendors were present. I coveted this vitrine filled with miniature orchids. Sadly I'm not allowed to buy any of these, as I either overwater them, leading to rot, or underwater them, leading to desiccation. I've learned my lesson with orchids, sadly.

 

Several organizations were represented, including the Northwest Perennial Alliance. They had this handy map of open gardens and tours. Now that I have a bit more time on my hands I need to make a point of visiting some of these gardens this spring.

 

Since there were so few nurseries present, there were also fewer plant treasures to tempt me. Picks of my two acquisitions to follow.