Seattle's Northwest Flower & Garden Show draws star speakers

Don't even think of telling Janet Endsley, the Seminar Czar for the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, that you're a newbie gardener intimidated by her lecture series. "The show is geared for beginning gardeners as well as veterans," she emphasizes. "Since the beginning, this show's had a strong educational component." As proven by her five-day, 119-speaker extravaganza, the most bountiful offering at any garden show in the country.

Every summer, eager speakers vying for a spot on the roster send in more than 300 lecture ideas for the next show. "I don't necessarily love every one of them," says Endsley. She weeds out ideas that are too esoteric, highbrow or commercial. Then she sets in to massage the jigsaw puzzle of proposals into a finely-tuned event.

"The entire schedule lives on my dining-room table for a couple of months," says Endsley. "I turn it all into color-coded strips that I move around." She sorts first by topic. People always ask for more rose information, but Endsley has found that most lectures on a single genus or type of plant draw a limited audience. "What people really want are talks about design . . . We have tremendous talent in the region, and I draw nationally and internationally," she says.

For the price of an entry ticket, it's theoretically possible to attend seminars from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Celebrity show judges are big draws; this year Joe Eck will be joined by his partner, Wayne Winterrowd, to talk about their famous Vermont garden. Swedish landscape architect Ulf Nordfjell brings an international design perspective. British color guru Nori Pope, whose book "Color By Design," is a stunner, is sure to be a hit.

Every year, Endsley seeks out at least a dozen or more lecturers new to the show. For 2009, that includes lifestyle maven Rebecca Cole speaking on creating an urban jungle. "Rose Growing 101," from American Rose Society president-elect Jeff Wyckoff, promises to deliver answers to the thorniest rose problems.

Also new this year, keyed to the show theme of "Sustainable Spaces," is an all-afternoon green-gardening series. On Friday, from 2 p.m. on, every speaker on every stage will preach the gospel of sustainability, from "Salvage Savvy" by Beth Evans-Ramos to Sunset magazine's Kathy Brenzel speaking on natural garden design. On the weekend, the Sprout Stage for kids is lively with hands-on activities and musical entertainment.

"The sad fact of my job is that I've never sat through any single talk," says Endsley, who runs around dealing with technical glitches or introducing the next speaker. But like good educators everywhere, she has eyes and ears keeping track of what's going on. "A cadre of experienced evaluators in every audience gives me feedback," she says, chuckling at the thought of any speaker trying to get away with an infomercial — more than once, anyway.

Despite Endsley's frantic show schedule, she's seen enough to have favorites. "The Queen of Deadheading," Tracy DiSabato-Aust, is back with a new book, Endsley says, "and Cole Burrell ("Sacred Space/Play Space") always touches a chord with the audience." Portland nursery owner Sean Hogan is sharing his not-to-be-missed expertise on artful agaves and stunning succulents, and Endsley suggests that local designer Tina Dixon's presentation on container gardening is equally worthwhile.

And worthwhile means a lot when you think that every minute spent in a seminar is time taken away from ogling the display gardens or cruising the commercial booths.

Here's a seminar that will appeal to gardeners new or old. When Joe Lamp'l presents "The Best of the Must-Haves for 2009," he ships all the products to the show for demonstration. And then, Oprah-like, he gives them all away. That seminar is on the Monrovia DIY Stage, 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 19.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "A Pattern Garden." Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.