Inspiration at the NW Flower and Garden Festival | Meanderings by Mindy Stern

Published 9:03 am Tuesday, March 24, 2026

A whopping 60,719 people attended the 2026 Northwest Flower and Garden Festival at the Seattle Convention Center in February. Many came from far away, staying overnight or making the show an entire weekend’s entertainment. This is the second largest festival of its kind in the United States, just after the Philadelphia Flower Show. USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Awards named the Seattle show Best Flower Festival in the country. It features twenty enormous installations, plants, garden ornaments, and flower-themed merch for sale, plus educational talks and workshops. There’s something for everyone, including young children.

Tucked discreetly between garden greenery, I spotted a tiny toy trumpet. Wait? Didn’t I just see a trumpet in another display? Yes! Each year, to keep young attendees engaged, designers are given a small object to place somewhere in their installation. This becomes a scavenger hunt, with a Treasure Hunt Form that sleuths can hand in for a prize.

The Puyallup Tribe of Indians was the Presenting Sponsor of this year’s show. The tribe’s display garden, “Knowledge of Place and Time,” included native plants and signs in English and Lushootseed highlighting The Five Cedar Teachings: “We are flexible, we take care of our people, we stand tall in our lives, we are strong, we give continuously.”

The “best in show” Founders Cup went to West Seattle Nursery’s Marcia Bruno and Carmen Leslie for their installation, Where Stories Take Root, inspired by the “little free libraries” in Seattle neighborhoods. Nursery patrons donated gardening books which stacked the shed’s shelves, were deconstructed to make fan-like fillers for empty spaces, and formed a unique, illuminated chandelier made of pages.

Claire Lidell Hanna of Relish Gardens designed a Gold Medal-winning installation called “The Jewel Box: A Moment Preserved.” Jars of actual preserves were cleverly placed throughout the installation, and the table setting practically begged you to sit down, relax, and enjoy al fresco dining in a lush landscape.

What does it take to be selected for a spot in this show? Lloyd Glassock, the show’s Event Coordinator since 1989, starts accepting applications in May. Designers send him concepts, specifying how much space they want, what elements will be included, how much will it weigh, how tall would it be. It must clear the convention center’s height and weight bearing restrictions. If fountains and streams are included, how will they handle water? Though these gardens look real, they’re actually built on sawdust and mulch. Where would excess water go?

One of the highlights of the festival is a daily afternoon program called Traveler’s Tea. Last year, I attended a talk on the Hidden Gardens of Japan. This year, I learned about chateaus and gardens in France’s Loire Valley. The “tea” is intended to inspire travel to these destinations and experience the gardens first-hand. It certainly whetted my appetite!

Here on Mercer Island, we have many talented gardeners. One of them, David Fishman, is also a photographer specializing in flowers, plants, gardens, and nature. Using multiple exposures, he creates hyper-detailed photographs of plants from his own garden, including highly toxic, though gorgeous Amanita mushrooms that popped up one day in his yard.

Extracting the background, he captures patterns, textures and shapes, giving the plants a three-dimensional appearance. David’s art has been displayed at the Bellevue Art Fair, Yuan Ru Art Center in Bellevue, and the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival.

Check out his photos at www.Fishmanbotanicalportraits.com. For inquiries, ignore his website’s contact tab and email him directly at outdoorDavid@comcast.net.

You can find so much inspiration at The Northwest Flower and Garden Festival. In addition to stunning display gardens, over 400 vendors come from all over the country to sell plants, fresh and dried flower bouquets, yard art and garden tools, outdoor furniture, and plant themed jewelry. After so much stimulation, I discovered an island of serenity at the Ikebana display, where beautiful Japanese flower arrangements took my breath away. The Sogetsu School of Ikebana, from Mercer Island, will have a show March 28 and 29 in Volunteer Park, Seattle.

Mark your calendar for next year’s festival: Feb. 17-21, 2027, check out the official website, and look for promo codes through your local nursery. See you in the garden!

Meanderings is an award-winning travel column by Mercer Island resident Mindy Stern. For more essays, or to comment, visit www.mindysternauthor.com.