It's Flower Show Time! Green Roof - YG&P Show What I found was superbly crafted display gardens, and a show packed with engaging seminars and demonstrations...

I am so ready to go to a flower show, any flower show. All right, I lied, not just any flower show, but the two botanical extravaganzas in the Pacific Northwest—the Yard, Patio and Garden Show in Portland and the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. I am here to tell you that my number one priority when I go is to soak in every bit of information until I am so satiated, I smell as sweet as the display gardens in both shows. After this large shot of creativity and all things horticulture, I can't wait to get back to my garden canvas. I will come home with notes, photos, gadgets and plants--so much that it will take me a few weeks to sift through and relive each moment.

Yard Garden and Patio Show
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon
February 15-17

Last year was the first time I went to the Yard, Patio and Garden Show. Since it is a smaller show than the one farther north, I didn't know what to expect when I arrived. What I found was superbly crafted display gardens, a show packed with engaging seminars and demonstrations, vendors selling every garden necessity and gadgetry you could want, and nearly any plant you dreamed of growing. I should have expected this, since the show is hosted by OAN, the Oregon Association of Nurseries. Of course, there are many plants; I said to myself as I smacked my forehead, Portland is Grand Central for the Willamette Valley, the bull's-eye for plant growers in the Northwest. The show isn't too small; it's just right for a needed horticulture fix, in time to get through the last throes of winter.

I am making my way down to Portland once again this year. I will photograph some of the highlights of the ten display gardens and share them on Rainy Side Gardeners the night before the show begins. (If you are subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive a reminder when it's ready to view.) I have several seminars I want to take in (from a choice of sixty hours' worth) and I must wade through vendor booths, all 500 of them, to see what goodies I can take home. Most likely, I will spend most of my time in the middle of the Green Market, trying to choose which green babies will join my garden.

I'm excited about trying a few tastes of wine from a few of the thirteen featured Oregon wineries, some with cool names like Hip Chicks Do Wine, Namaste Vineyards Dalla Vina Wines, and others. Just a few tastes for me, unless someone wants to volunteer as a designated driver so I can indulge in a glass or two. Before you volunteer, you must know this is a drive to the North Kitsap Peninsula in Washington. Wine will be served in biodegradable plastic cups and poured by members of the Pacific Northwest Wine Club. And if you start asking for the botanical names of the wine you order, you may find yourself promptly escorted over to the Green Market.

Whether you are an avid gardener or a beginner, you will want to take in this show. You may come away poorer in the pocketbook, but richer from all the knowledge and opinions floating freely around the Oregon Convention Center.

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