Coming Soon! The 2012 Northwest Flower & Garden Show

This is the time in winter when I start to get twitchy. I look outside and though I love seeing the snow showers we're receiving right now, I'm tired of having to bundle up every time I go outside to do anything. My indoor growing keeps me going, garden-wise, but I really long for the fresh smell of spring and the sounds of birds singing in the mornings.

That's not likely to happen here for awhile yet, so I have to come up with other ways to pass the time until it does. Last year, I really wanted to attend the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle, but just couldn't swing it. I told myself I was going to go in 2012. And I am.

Next Wednesday, Mom and I will wing our way across the country, back to one of our favorite destinations - the Pacific Northwest. We spent 11 days there last July and I was ready to move. This time, we'll be inside most of the time, but I'm just as excited about going.

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show takes place at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle every year, and is well-known to showcase the latest and greatest garden designs to thrill show-goers. There will also be presentations by those in the garden industry to entertain and educate those in attendance. And I'm excited to meet up with my fellow garden writer friends, some for first time in person.

There are 22 show gardens, with such themes as  "April in Paris," "Birdsong," "Grunge Garden," "Rhythm and Roots," and "Symphony Orchidstra." It will be fun to see how these are interpreted using plants and landscaping  materials.

There are oodles of interesting seminars (over 120!) and these are just a few that I plan on attending:  Jessi Bloom's "What the Cluck?"; "Creating Harmony in the Garden" with Rebecca Sweet; and "Creative Flower and Garden Photography" with Charles Needle. I've got chickens, I'm design-challenged, and who can't use a little help with their photography skills?

Joe Lamp'l will be there, as will Jamie Durie, and wait until my girls hear that Chris Balew, the lead singer for The Presidents of the United States of America will be performing (except that here he's performing as Caspar Babypants). I remember them listening to his music back in the '90s.

The show runs February 8-12, and we'll be in attendance for most of each of those days. I'm hoping to be inspired by what I see and learn there. One of the advantages to seeing garden shows in different parts of the country is that they each have their own flavor, just as the places where they're held do.

For more information about the show, visit their website: Northwest Flower & Garden Show.