Northwest Flower & Garden Show to close for good without a new owner

After 21 years, the Northwest Flower & Garden Show might not make it through another winter.

Founding owner Duane Kelly wants to pursue other interests and is seeking a buyer to take over the show — the second largest of its kind in the United States and, for many in the Northwest, a colorful reprieve from late winter's gloom.

If he doesn't find a buyer soon, Kelly says, he will close the show for good after a five-day run next month at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle.

Talks with a dozen possible buyers in the past four months haven't led to a deal, Kelly said, partly because of the bad economy.

"For a variety of reasons," he said, "the fit wasn't right, or the timing wasn't right. The capital markets are tough."

Tens of thousands of people attend the show each year, to see its elaborate plant and tree displays, hear speakers from around the world and stock up on springtime supplies.

Despite a recent downturn in attendance, the show outdraws all similar U.S. gardening events except Philadelphia's flower show, which began in 1829.

For those who go, the Seattle show has become an advance rite of spring in February, "when we're all so starved for color and flowers," said Valerie Easton, who writes a garden column for Pacific Northwest magazine. "You see people all over downtown carrying potted orchids and cut branches of pussy willows. They're just taking that spring home with them."

Kelly's Ballard company, Salmon Bay Events, is listing the Seattle show along with the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, which it also owns, for between $1 million and $2 million. The price includes Salmon Bay's staff of nine people, trademarks, customer lists and long-term-venue agreements.

Kelly, 59, said he wants to focus on a new career writing plays and to devote more time to his wife, Alice. He said he has until late March to find a buyer, since that's when planning for the next year would need to begin.

"I had to look deep inside myself before I made this decision," he said, "but it's time for me to move on."

Kelly said Seattle attendees buy, on average, $100 worth of lawn and garden products at the show, making it an important selling opportunity for regional merchants during an otherwise slow time of the year.

The show also functions as an annual reunion for serious, or not-so-serious, gardeners.

"I'll miss it terribly," said Dan Hinkley, a gardening consultant and writer who founded and later sold Kitsap County's internationally known Heronswood Nursery. "It's like homecoming every year ... walking the floor and seeing all the familiar faces."

The show itself makes money from vendor fees, ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, Kelly said. The show took in $1.8 million in 2008, slightly more than the previous year, as record sponsorships offset a continued decline in attendance. Last year's show attracted 54,000 people, down from a peak of 84,000 in 1999.

"It's always been a very positive thing for us," said Wally Kerwin, owner of Swansons Nursery in north Seattle. "I think people are not going to shows as much as they used to, but the real gardening enthusiasts are still coming."

Nationally, several trends are hurting the gardening business, including the aging of baby boomers, some of whom are swapping big homes on wooded lots for in-town condominiums and dual-income families with less time to spend outdoors, experts say.

In 2007, an estimated 82 million U.S. households participated in at least one type of gardening activity, 3 million fewer than the previous five-year average, according to the National Gardening Association.

Easton credits Kelly with trying to make the Seattle show relevant to new generations, emphasizing such things as urban-style gardens and recyclables. Still, at 56, Easton tends to feel like one of the youngsters in attendance.

"That just kind of tells you what's going on with gardening," she said. "It's very rare that I'm one of the younger people in a room — but gardening events, yes."

The show takes up five floors at the convention center and is the largest annual event in terms of attendance, said John Christison, the venue's president and general manager. Smaller business gatherings, such as a Microsoft convention, typically generate more money for the center, but the show "holds a great deal of cachet," Christison said.

"It's a gorgeous show, and people really love it," he said. "We would hate to see it go, but Duane is of the mind that he wants to move on, and I appreciate that."

Because February tends to be a popular month for business gatherings, Christison added, filling the show's dates with another event shouldn't be too tough.

Kelly said he's optimistic about this year's attendance, suggesting that people will want to brighten up their winter even more than usual because of the dreary economy. "People might not be going to Hawaii or Europe, but they still want to get out and do things," he said.

The economy is hurting the show in other ways, though: Corporate sponsorships are down more than 50 percent from last year, Kelly said. About 300 exhibitors plan to participate, the same as last year.

"This is a tough year after the economy tanked, and that increases the pressure on me," he said. "At my age, that pressure is not as appealing as it once was."

Kelly said the Seattle and San Francisco shows might have fetched up to $8 million 10 years ago.

"No one could go out and start from scratch these two shows and nurture them to profitability for more than what I'm asking," he said. "I'm hoping someone will step forward and keep these shows going so our great-grandchildren can enjoy them."

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com