February 18-22, 2026

Seattle Convention Center

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Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Seminar schedule subject to change, so we recommend checking back closer to the show for the current schedule. No ticket refunds in the event of Speaker cancellations.

What’s a ProTip? Some speakers provide a handout for their sessions. We post them each evening of the show for you to download.

Useful Information

All seminars at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival are FREE with your ticket!

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LEGEND

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What’s a ProTip? Some speakers provide a handout for their sessions. We post them each evening of the show for you to download - just click the icon. They are available for three months post show.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

DIY Stage

(All seminars 60 minutes unless noted)

10:00 AM	Pruning Trees: Professional Tools and Techniques Allen Taylor - Lead arborist and founder of Conservation Tree Care View More You might be surprised just how simple tree pruning can be. A small collection of quality tools allows for nearly endless possibilities when caring for your trees. In a market saturated with specialized pruning tools arborists tend to stick with the basics, hand snips, a hand saw, a couple pole tools, and an orchard ladder. The presentation will demonstrate techniques for making quality pruning cuts all while keeping yourself safe.	Pruning Trees: Professional Tools and Techniques You might be surprised just how simple tree pruning can be. A small collection of quality tools allows for nearly endless possibilities when caring for your trees. In a market saturated with specialized pruning tools arborists tend to stick with the basics, hand snips, a hand saw, a couple pole tools, and an orchard ladder. The presentation will demonstrate techniques for making quality pruning cuts all while keeping yourself safe. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 10:00 AM
11:45 AM	Basic Propagation Ann M Amato - Horticulturist View More Much like cooking, the craft of propagation can be engaging, performative AND recipes are often used and, sometimes, altered. Come watch and learn more about this green thumb skillset from a professional propagator who’s propagated thousands of plants for regional nurseries we all know and love. From seeds to cuttings, spores to simple grafts, air layering to division—to answering questions about tissue culture—Ann has seen it all! Please bring your questions. Tools and techniques will be highlighted as well.	Basic Propagation Much like cooking, the craft of propagation can be engaging, performative AND recipes are often used and, sometimes, altered. Come watch and learn more about this green thumb skillset from a professional propagator who’s propagated thousands of plants for regional nurseries we all know and love. From seeds to cuttings, spores to simple grafts, air layering to division—to answering questions about tissue culture—Ann has seen it all! Please bring your questions. Tools and techniques will be highlighted as well. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 11:45 AM
1:30 PM	The Herbal Rosarian Sue Goetz - Owner Creative Gardener, Author Complete Container Herb Gardening View More Discover the purposeful herbal side of roses. Herbalists treasure the fragrant flowers for their sweet flavor, healing skincare, and medicinal virtues. Learn about their role in history used by apothecaries and used in modern day. Find out the best garden rose varieties to grow and use for herb preparation and flavor. Harvesting and preserving tips, recipes for skin care, culinary, and crafting.	The Herbal Rosarian Discover the purposeful herbal side of roses. Herbalists treasure the fragrant flowers for their sweet flavor, healing skincare, and medicinal virtues. Learn about their role in history used by apothecaries and used in modern day. Find out the best garden rose varieties to grow and use for herb preparation and flavor. Harvesting and preserving tips, recipes for skin care, culinary, and crafting. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 1:30 PM
3:15 PM	Get Bossy with Your Bulbs: Divide, Force, and Plant Successively for a Colorful, Bloom-filled Garden Sean and Allison McManus - Owners/hosts Spoken Garden, Authors The First Time Gardener View More Be the boss of your bulbs by learning how to divide them, force them to bloom early, and plant them successively. Take advantage of how bulbs reproduce in your garden and learn how to divide or separate bulbs like daffodils, tulips, dahlias, bearded iris, gladiolus, and more, so you can spread them around your garden, share them with friends or family, or create new container designs without spending money on more bulbs. Discover how to force your bulbs to bloom early to get a jump on the growing season. Also, learn which specific bulbs you can plant successively throughout the summer to have months of blooms.	Get Bossy with Your Bulbs: Divide, Force, and Plant Successively for a Colorful, Bloom-filled Garden Be the boss of your bulbs by learning how to divide them, force them to bloom early, and plant them successively. Take advantage of how bulbs reproduce in your garden and learn how to divide or separate bulbs like daffodils, tulips, dahlias, bearded iris, gladiolus, and more, so you can spread them around your garden, share them with friends or family, or create new container designs without spending money on more bulbs. Discover how to force your bulbs to bloom early to get a jump on the growing season. Also, learn which specific bulbs you can plant successively throughout the summer to have months of blooms. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 3:15 PM
5:00 PM	Alternative Orchid Growing Techniques Joseph J Grienauer - Owner Emerald City Orchids View More This session will start with standard practices for orchid growing in pots and quickly move into alternative methods of growing orchids, with physical demonstrations for different methods. These will include examples of mounted orchids and a mounting demonstration, water culture orchids, and growing in a basket. The session will also address the differences in growing inside a home near a window, under lights, in a greenhouse, terrariums, and other types of environments.	Alternative Orchid Growing Techniques This session will start with standard practices for orchid growing in pots and quickly move into alternative methods of growing orchids, with physical demonstrations for different methods. These will include examples of mounted orchids and a mounting demonstration, water culture orchids, and growing in a basket. The session will also address the differences in growing inside a home near a window, under lights, in a greenhouse, terrariums, and other types of environments. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 5:00 PM

Hood Room

(All seminars 60 minutes unless noted)

9:30 AM	Made for the Shade, Creating the Shade Garden of Your Dreams Susan Calhoun - Journalist and regional reporter for Fine Gardening, award-winning designer, writer, and speaker View More One of the hardest, but most rewarding, gardens to create is a shade garden. Living in the Pacific Northwest for most of her life and creating gardens here has given Susan the ability to say 'challenge accepted'. Sharing from her own garden as well as client gardens she will give information about planting for texture and color, not just flowers to create an all-season garden. Using bulbs, grasses and ground covers not just rhododendrons and azaleas will help give us the calm, leafy space a shade garden can be. We will talk about the different kinds of shade and how to plant for drought tolerance and soaking rain. We will discuss creating shade where there is none by planting manageable lovely trees. Susan will also include exotics like impatiens, orchids, and podophyllums that are hardy and add a sense of excitement and discovery to a shade garden. The shade garden will soon become your favorite garden!	Made for the Shade, Creating the Shade Garden of Your Dreams One of the hardest, but most rewarding, gardens to create is a shade garden. Living in the Pacific Northwest for most of her life and creating gardens here has given Susan the ability to say 'challenge accepted'. Sharing from her own garden as well as client gardens she will give information about planting for texture and color, not just flowers to create an all-season garden. Using bulbs, grasses and ground covers not just rhododendrons and azaleas will help give us the calm, leafy space a shade garden can be. We will talk about the different kinds of shade and how to plant for drought tolerance and soaking rain. We will discuss creating shade where there is none by planting manageable lovely trees. Susan will also include exotics like impatiens, orchids, and podophyllums that are hardy and add a sense of excitement and discovery to a shade garden. The shade garden will soon become your favorite garden! Wednesday, February 19, 2025 9:30 AM
10:45 AM	Disease and Death in the Garden: Pathological Musings from a Plant Doctor’s Perspective Jerry Weiland - PhD, USDA-Agricultural Research Service View More Just as every single human on this planet has gotten sick at one point or another, so has every single plant. Disease and death are a fact of life in our gardens whether we like it or not. But, what exactly are plant diseases and what can we do about them? Join Jerry as he discusses the causes of plant disease, the ecological role that disease plays in the environment, evaluating the impact of disease on plant health, as well as tips for minimizing disease in your own home garden.	Disease and Death in the Garden: Pathological Musings from a Plant Doctor’s Perspective Just as every single human on this planet has gotten sick at one point or another, so has every single plant. Disease and death are a fact of life in our gardens whether we like it or not. But, what exactly are plant diseases and what can we do about them? Join Jerry as he discusses the causes of plant disease, the ecological role that disease plays in the environment, evaluating the impact of disease on plant health, as well as tips for minimizing disease in your own home garden. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 10:45 AM
12:00 PM	Boost Biodiversity in Your Garden with Insect-Friendly Habitat Amy Campion - Co-author Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: The Complete Homeowner's Guide View More News of crashing insect populations may make you feel hopeless about the future. However, there are many things you can do to make a real difference in improving insect biodiversity where you live. In this talk, you'll learn simple steps you can take to create more insect-friendly habitat in your garden, and you'll meet some of the fascinating creatures that show up when you welcome them in.	Boost Biodiversity in Your Garden with Insect-Friendly Habitat News of crashing insect populations may make you feel hopeless about the future. However, there are many things you can do to make a real difference in improving insect biodiversity where you live. In this talk, you'll learn simple steps you can take to create more insect-friendly habitat in your garden, and you'll meet some of the fascinating creatures that show up when you welcome them in. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 12:00 PM
1:15 PM	Cultivate the Rainbow Lorene Edwards Forkner - Author, maker, speaker, columnist for Seattle Times and GardenRant.com contributor View More Romp through a rainbow of plants that thrive in Pacific Northwest gardens. Color is the most obvious element of a garden and an essential tool in the creation of a landscape. In nature, color is a component of pollination, ripening, and other fundamental biological processes. Yet, from a human perspective color is often treated as simply an indulgent finishing touch. Color is powerful and can take a pleasing garden to dynamic heights. We’ll look at using color in the garden to manipulate space, leverage light, and explore ways to love your garden life in every hue and season."	Cultivate the Rainbow Romp through a rainbow of plants that thrive in Pacific Northwest gardens. Color is the most obvious element of a garden and an essential tool in the creation of a landscape. In nature, color is a component of pollination, ripening, and other fundamental biological processes. Yet, from a human perspective color is often treated as simply an indulgent finishing touch. Color is powerful and can take a pleasing garden to dynamic heights. We’ll look at using color in the garden to manipulate space, leverage light, and explore ways to love your garden life in every hue and season." Wednesday, February 19, 2025 1:15 PM
2:45 PM	Designing with Deer-Resistant Flowers Karen Chapman - Author, landscape designer, travel guide & owner of Le Jardinet View More What does “deer resistance” really look like? It’s much more than just a shopping list. Join Karen Chapman to learn the concepts behind combining favorite deer-resistant flowers, perhaps with other plants you already have, to create artistic, multi-season vignettes that you’ll love but the deer won’t. With examples for both hot sunny areas and dry shade learn strategies to transform your garden into one you can be proud of but that the deer will leave alone.	Designing with Deer-Resistant Flowers What does “deer resistance” really look like? It’s much more than just a shopping list. Join Karen Chapman to learn the concepts behind combining favorite deer-resistant flowers, perhaps with other plants you already have, to create artistic, multi-season vignettes that you’ll love but the deer won’t. With examples for both hot sunny areas and dry shade learn strategies to transform your garden into one you can be proud of but that the deer will leave alone. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 2:45 PM
4:00 PM	How to Become a Resilient Gardener Kim Stoddart - Award-winning UK journalist and authority on resilient gardening. Editor Amateur Gardening magazine. View More Resilience in the garden is as much about the gardener's inner approach to it as nurturing plants in a new reality. Join resilient garden expert, Kim Stoddard, for all the how-to's for your garden and your heart as we, as humans, navigate this shift in our world and our gardens.	How to Become a Resilient Gardener Resilience in the garden is as much about the gardener's inner approach to it as nurturing plants in a new reality. Join resilient garden expert, Kim Stoddard, for all the how-to's for your garden and your heart as we, as humans, navigate this shift in our world and our gardens. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 4:00 PM
5:00 PM	PNW Month-by-Month Gardening: Tips for Cultivating a More Resilient Garden Christina Pfeiffer - Seattle based author and horticulture educator View More In gardening, as with many things in life, timing can be everything. Some of our long time “tried and true” methods may no longer be as effective as in the past. Long time favorite garden plants and native species may now struggle. This talk will highlight how to optimize key garden tasks and timing for more sustainable and healthy landscapes.	PNW Month-by-Month Gardening: Tips for Cultivating a More Resilient Garden In gardening, as with many things in life, timing can be everything. Some of our long time “tried and true” methods may no longer be as effective as in the past. Long time favorite garden plants and native species may now struggle. This talk will highlight how to optimize key garden tasks and timing for more sustainable and healthy landscapes. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 5:00 PM

Main Stage

11:00 AM	Container Showdown: Wednesday Justin Henderson - Executive Director and Head Gardener at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood, Washington Sue Goetz - Owner Creative Gardener, Author Complete Container Herb Gardening	Container Showdown: Wednesday Wednesday, February 19, 2025 11:00 AM
1:00 PM	Great Plant Picks: Plants for Pollinators Richie Steffen - Executive Director for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden View More Our gardens are built for beauty but serve as a resource for our regional wildlife. Our gardens can be a haven for honeybees and native pollinators with the addition of a varied and diverse selection of plants. Great Plant Picks (www.greatplantpicks.org ) is a regional resource that focuses on plants that thrive in our maritime Pacific Northwest climate. Learn about some of the best performing pollinator friendly plants that will flourish in your garden and how to create a space that encourages healthy pollinator populations.	Great Plant Picks: Plants for Pollinators Our gardens are built for beauty but serve as a resource for our regional wildlife. Our gardens can be a haven for honeybees and native pollinators with the addition of a varied and diverse selection of plants. Great Plant Picks (www.greatplantpicks.org ) is a regional resource that focuses on plants that thrive in our maritime Pacific Northwest climate. Learn about some of the best performing pollinator friendly plants that will flourish in your garden and how to create a space that encourages healthy pollinator populations. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 1:00 PM
2:30 PM	Blooms & Bubbles: Cut It Up: A Topiary Workshop [additional ticket required] Mike P. Gibson - World renowned topiary artist View More Unleash your creativity and green thumb in this hands-on workshop, designed for garden enthusiasts of all levels who are eager to learn the art of topiary. During this engaging session, each participant will receive their very own small tree to sculpt. World-renowned topiary artist Mike Gibson will guide you through the fundamentals of basic topiary techniques, from shaping and pruning to creating intricate designs. You'll have the chance to transform your tree into a unique piece of living art that you can proudly take home. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a curious beginner, this workshop offers a wonderful opportunity to develop your skills, meet fellow plant lovers, and leave with a personalized creation that adds a touch of elegance to your home or garden. Join us for a day of creativity, hands-on learning, and botanical fun!	Blooms & Bubbles: Cut It Up: A Topiary Workshop [additional ticket required] Unleash your creativity and green thumb in this hands-on workshop, designed for garden enthusiasts of all levels who are eager to learn the art of topiary. During this engaging session, each participant will receive their very own small tree to sculpt. World-renowned topiary artist Mike Gibson will guide you through the fundamentals of basic topiary techniques, from shaping and pruning to creating intricate designs. You'll have the chance to transform your tree into a unique piece of living art that you can proudly take home. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a curious beginner, this workshop offers a wonderful opportunity to develop your skills, meet fellow plant lovers, and leave with a personalized creation that adds a touch of elegance to your home or garden. Join us for a day of creativity, hands-on learning, and botanical fun! Wednesday, February 19, 2025 2:30 PM
4:00 PM	Small Space Solutions with Epic Gardening: Trellis Tricks Wendi Phan - Founder It's Wendiland on social media View More Join the team from Epic Gardening and their friends for a daily dose of Small Space Solutions. Each day at 4pm on the Main Stage, tips and tricks will be provided to gardeners working with limited gardening space. From growing your own groceries to grow bags to trellising, smart seed starting for smaller plants to containers that go-go-go... join this fun, interactive session daily and enjoy new ideas and insights from the experts at Epic Gardening!	Small Space Solutions with Epic Gardening: Trellis Tricks Join the team from Epic Gardening and their friends for a daily dose of Small Space Solutions. Each day at 4pm on the Main Stage, tips and tricks will be provided to gardeners working with limited gardening space. From growing your own groceries to grow bags to trellising, smart seed starting for smaller plants to containers that go-go-go... join this fun, interactive session daily and enjoy new ideas and insights from the experts at Epic Gardening! Wednesday, February 19, 2025 4:00 PM

Plant Market

House of Plants Daily at 10, 11:30, 1:30, 3:30

Derek Haynes - Plant biologist known as "The Chocolate Botanist".

Rainier Room

(All seminars 60 minutes unless noted)

10:00 AM	Grasses for a Greener World; Grasses and the Wider Environment Neil Lucas - Recipient of RHS Victoria Medal, Executive Director Knoll Gardens, Author View More Neil Lucas, recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal knows ornamental grasses. In this session, we'll take a look at how grasses can work in ‘functional’ horticulture, with a focus on rain gardens and, also, lawn replacement. Neil will also share how his interest in grasses led to a deeper understanding of our natural systems and the formation of a small charity, the Knoll Gardens Foundation, which is tasked with learning more about the relationship between Knoll naturalistic style and the gardens wildlife.	Grasses for a Greener World; Grasses and the Wider Environment Neil Lucas, recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal knows ornamental grasses. In this session, we'll take a look at how grasses can work in ‘functional’ horticulture, with a focus on rain gardens and, also, lawn replacement. Neil will also share how his interest in grasses led to a deeper understanding of our natural systems and the formation of a small charity, the Knoll Gardens Foundation, which is tasked with learning more about the relationship between Knoll naturalistic style and the gardens wildlife. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 10:00 AM
11:30 AM	Magical Mixes Jacqueline van der Kloet - Author, landscape designer, "Bulb Queen of the Netherlands" View More Magical Mixes is the story of Jacqueline’s own trial garden in Weesp, a small city in The Netherlands, just east of Amsterdam. Here she has been experimenting with combinations of spring flowering bulbs for more than 30 years. Learn about spring bulb combos, examples of best (and easiest!) bulbs for naturalizing, the “lasagna system” for container plantings and a special, insider tour through her work at Keukenhof - the famous bulb garden of the Netherlands.	Magical Mixes Magical Mixes is the story of Jacqueline’s own trial garden in Weesp, a small city in The Netherlands, just east of Amsterdam. Here she has been experimenting with combinations of spring flowering bulbs for more than 30 years. Learn about spring bulb combos, examples of best (and easiest!) bulbs for naturalizing, the “lasagna system” for container plantings and a special, insider tour through her work at Keukenhof - the famous bulb garden of the Netherlands. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 11:30 AM
1:00 PM	The Fragrant Flower Garden Stefani Bittner - Author, owner Homestead Design Collective View More There is nothing like the beauty and scent of a flower-filled garden and home. The Fragrant Flower Garden shows you how to grow flowers that are a feast for the nose as well as the eyes, from a naturally perfumed carpet of sweet alyssum and the warm, spicy scent of gardenia to the heavenly aroma of lilacs. A beautiful garden is one where you can find joy in every sense--literally. The Fragrant Flower Garden makes this dream a reality with garden design guidance for a year's worth of flowers, foliage, and fragrance.	The Fragrant Flower Garden There is nothing like the beauty and scent of a flower-filled garden and home. The Fragrant Flower Garden shows you how to grow flowers that are a feast for the nose as well as the eyes, from a naturally perfumed carpet of sweet alyssum and the warm, spicy scent of gardenia to the heavenly aroma of lilacs. A beautiful garden is one where you can find joy in every sense--literally. The Fragrant Flower Garden makes this dream a reality with garden design guidance for a year's worth of flowers, foliage, and fragrance. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 1:00 PM
2:30 PM	Sun and Shade Perennials: I like it, I love it, I want more of it... Tony Avent - Author, owner Plant Delights Nursery View More What’s new, exciting - and sometimes overlooked- in the perennial world. New plants are entering the market at a pace comparable to the plant-mad Victorian era of the 1800s. Some new introductions make excellent garden plants, while others are overhyped duds. We’ll explore some of our favorites for both sun and shade from our garden trials.	Sun and Shade Perennials: I like it, I love it, I want more of it... What’s new, exciting - and sometimes overlooked- in the perennial world. New plants are entering the market at a pace comparable to the plant-mad Victorian era of the 1800s. Some new introductions make excellent garden plants, while others are overhyped duds. We’ll explore some of our favorites for both sun and shade from our garden trials. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 2:30 PM
4:30 PM	What Do Designers Know That You Might Not Phillip Waite - Author, educator University of Idaho, Washington State University, Utah State University View More Have you ever looked at a beautiful landscape in a magazine or book and wondered “how in the world did the designer come up with such ingenious and beautiful ideas?” Have you ever wanted to hang out in a designer’s studio to watch how they come up with their ideas? How would a designer’s approach to your project differ from your own approach? What does a trained and experienced landscape designer know that you might not know? This session will explore the ‘rules of thumb’ and ‘guiding theories’ that landscape designers are trained in and use in creating functional, sustainable, and beautiful landscapes. This session will share the lessons and guiding theories from the worlds of art, design, sociology, psychology, and horticulture that influence a designer’s approach to problem solving and creating landscapes that are functional and beautiful.	What Do Designers Know That You Might Not Have you ever looked at a beautiful landscape in a magazine or book and wondered “how in the world did the designer come up with such ingenious and beautiful ideas?” Have you ever wanted to hang out in a designer’s studio to watch how they come up with their ideas? How would a designer’s approach to your project differ from your own approach? What does a trained and experienced landscape designer know that you might not know? This session will explore the ‘rules of thumb’ and ‘guiding theories’ that landscape designers are trained in and use in creating functional, sustainable, and beautiful landscapes. This session will share the lessons and guiding theories from the worlds of art, design, sociology, psychology, and horticulture that influence a designer’s approach to problem solving and creating landscapes that are functional and beautiful. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 4:30 PM