After 21 years of showcasing the best of Northwest garden design, Duane Kelly is finally hanging up his bucket hat. Who’s Duane Kelly and why should you care? Glad you asked!

Duane Kelly is the founder of the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, the second largest flower show in the US, and tomorrow opens what may be the very last show, unless a buyer can be found. Kelly’s company, Salmon Bay Events, is a small family affair: seven people working in a small Ballard office, along with a couple of people down in San Francisco (Salmon Bay Events also produces the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show). True to their commitment to Seattle and the Show, Salmon Bay Events have surpassed themselves: this year’s show is truly a labor of love.

I got to take the Media Sneak Preview Tour of the display gardens, this morning, and I plan on going back at least twice more, once on my own and once with friends. The designers took this year’s theme, “Sustainable Spaces. Beautiful Places.” and used it to build gardens and outdoor “rooms” that take advantage of our mild climate, environmental sensibility, and native plants. Every garden features elements made of recycled, reused, or renewed materials, from a raised-bed salad garden made from an old trunk to a recast concrete cube as a water feature. Display gardens contain ideas for any class of gardener: there are three balcony gardens, showcasing what apartment and condo dwellers can do to grow food, flowers, and herbs, or just to bring nature a little closer to the urban home. Thrifty dilettantes like me will be heartened by the many low maintenance, but attractive ground covers, and creative reuse of found objects. More well-heeled or dedicated visitors might take notes on the solar cabin or the bonsai garden, which I can only drool over.

For kids, there is a new children’s area, with activities and demonstrations, as well as a scavenger hunt through the regular display gardens. The “Sprout Stage” (love the pun!) will feature kid-friendly demos from 10 AM until 4 PM on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The scavenger hunt asks kids to find the plushy (donated by a local company, and to be auctioned off for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the end of the show) in return for prizes. There is a children’s garden, and one of the display gardens even has a theme of “Nature’s Classroom” advocating outdoor learning (check out the blackboard!) for all ages. Finally, if your sprouts are too young to enjoy these offerings, free childcare by licensed providers is available on-site.

In addition to the new children’s activities, a special exhibitor section focuses exclusively on products that benefit the environment. There is the usual dizzying array of seminars, as well, but it’s worth pointing out that all seminars on Friday after 2 PM will focus on “Green Living”: 3 stages and 12 seminars about water management, soil improvement, container and organic gardening, salvaging…

Let’s hope that the Northwest Flower and Garden Show finds a buyer with the same commitment as Salmon Bay Events. In any case, whether you are an annual attendee or have never been to the NW Flower and Garden show, this is the year to buy a ticket, drop in, and show your love. It may be your last chance. And if you see Duane, be sure to say “Thank you!” for all of his years of hard work.

Northwest Flower and Garden Show
February 18-22, 2009
Convention Center, 7th & Pike, Downtown Seattle
[LINK]