Old Hat Is Out

A revamped Flower & Garden Show will feature both the fresh and the familiar

FORGET WOMEN in hats judging chrysanthemums. The image for 21st-century flower shows is more likely a 20-something holding a prize orchid overhead while threading through the crowd on a skateboard.

This year's Northwest Flower & Garden Show is duly updated. Billed as a festival to celebrate springtime, it features performances for kids, balcony-sized gardens, interiors with custom-made plots, and containers everywhere.

The 2006 extravaganza (Feb. 8-12 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center) includes the usual acres of display gardens and retail booths as well as the plant market. Not that you'll want to miss these because Christianson's Nursery is back with a garden called "The Joy of Lost Time," and fresh-flower stands will add to the market's many attractions.

Duane Kelly, the show's founder and ambassador, has been careful to retain the seminar series and displays that keep the show popular with dedicated gardeners. Last year, Kelly undertook significant research after realizing that nurseries and flower shows around the country and in England were suffering the same decrease in attendance that had plagued the Northwest show in recent years. He was energized rather than disheartened by what he learned; this year's innovations were driven by a fat notebook full of statistics, given out to everyone on the show's staff.

The research shows that graying gardeners are simplifying their outdoor spaces, while younger gardeners aren't nearly as plant-crazy as we've been for the past 20 years. Generation X and Y enjoy gardens, but as spaces for socializing more than for growing perennials. Kelly thinks the future of gardening lies with younger people who want to be entertained rather than lectured to, hence this year's interactive-festival atmosphere.

"Sproutopia," designed to attract families, features story hours and performances by Seattle Children's Theatre. Many of the display gardens sound especially child-friendly this year, including Grandma's Garden with a bubblegum path (unchewed), a chocolate-themed garden and "Wildwood Folly" filled with storybook characters. Plus there's a new pricing policy for kids and students up to age 25. "We don't want anyone not to attend because they can't bring their family," says Kelly.

An emphasis on small gardens, container plantings and outdoor living are a sign of the times. Nine of the display gardens demonstrate how to make the most of diminutive spaces. I always loved the designer rooms you looked through to see the garden, and that concept has been brought back. There will be two custom interiors on the main floor, plus Windermere Real Estate will have a first-ever display of five walk-through rooms and gardens in "destination locations" such as the desert, seaside and mountains.

Innovations to lure newer gardeners include seminars for those gardening with children, in small spaces or "starting fresh." You might want to look at the symbols on the schedule as suggestions only because, for instance, the talk I'm giving about my garden is marked for new home owners, when I'd expect it to appeal to anyone gardening in limited space.

An "Ask the Expert" panel of master gardeners will be available during all show hours, and people are encouraged to bring in plants and questions for free advice.

As you wend through the exhilarating welter of plants, design, music and people, be sure to make your way to the South Lobby to see the curated traveling museum exhibit brought to the show by the Northwest Horticultural Society. "A Place To Take Root: America's Flowerpots, Regional Styles from the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries" is a celebration of the artistry and history of the common flower pot. Here's interactivity for grown-ups, with potter John Weber and Connecticut master Guy Wolff demonstrating pot throwing in a custom-made studio. You get to see not only beautifully designed pots but also an array of contemporary containers planted by the very best local designers, who could only be talked into such an undertaking by a respected group like the horticultural society.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.