During a recent workday, My Garden Nursery co-owner Jenny Gunderson spent the morning helping put together a display composed of 16-foot-tall mushrooms made out of wood and paint alongside smaller ceramic renditions of the fungi commonly found in the Pacific Northwest.
She stepped away from the project to talk about what she’s looking forward to regarding the upcoming gardening season — and also how the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival taking place Feb. 15–19 at the Seattle Convention Center translates into good business for local nurseries.
“We’re excited here every single month,” Gunderson said, noting recent deliveries to the magical, metal-flamingo-filled business she owns with husband Bill Raynolds at 929 E. Bakerview Road are making it feel as if spring is on its way. From fragrant clematis to sweet box shrubs, daffodils, hyacinth, fruit trees, a “berry bonanza” and numerous perennials, annuals and bulbs, the merchandise coming through the doors offers hope to those who wonder if winter will ever end.
A cat sculpture sits among a display of blooming primrose plants at My Garden Nursery. If you visit, keep an eye out for Mr. Dilly Pickles, the resident feline and Instagram star.
(Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)
In her 46 years in the nursery industry and almost eight years at the current locale in Bellingham, Gunderson has attended the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival both as a vendor and a visitor. This year, she’ll be taking a day off from My Garden to head to Seattle to peruse the plentiful display gardens, plant markets and “container wars” — and maybe drop by a seminar or stick around for a demo or two. This year’s theme is “Spring Vibes Only,” and Gunderson said she expects to return home with fresh ideas.
“It’s definitely full of inspiration, and we’re looking forward to going this year,” Gunderson said. “It also gets people all excited, and then they want the plants they see there afterwards, so then they visit us.”
Tickets to the Flower & Garden Festival can be purchased in advance at My Garden, Gunderson said. While you’re there, pick up a few new plants or seeds and say hello to the resident cat and Instagram star, Mr. Dilly Pickles.
At My Garden Nursery’s jungle room, Jaden Neff looks for variegation in the leaves of a totem plant while searching for a Valentine’s Day gift for his girlfriend, who is a florist at Haggen.
(Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)
At Garden Spot Nursery, staff member Sage Zahorodni said they’re also selling tickets to the Emerald City event. They don’t attend the festival as a business, but Zahorodni noted many employees go to get ideas and “enjoy the splendor.”
In fact, they have been so inspired by what they’ve seen in the past at the festival that from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26 it’ll be hosting the third annual Garden Spot Flower and Garden Show, “Storybook Gardens,” at their home base at 900 Alabama St. (behind Trader Joe’s). The free event will feature a planted garden, a pop-up featuring local artisans and more.
“We have some talented designers here and it’s a chance to not only showcase their skills, but get our community excited for spring,” Zahorodni said. “We are most looking forward to highlighting local — locally made gifts, pottery and garden art, as well as other local businesses that make Bellingham more vibrant and sustainable.”
Christianson’s Nursery in Mount Vernon will not only be returning to the Convention Center to host a commercial exhibit at the festival’s plant market area, they’ll also be bringing both budding and experienced horticulturalists along for the ride. “Flower buses” will depart at 8 a.m. from 15806 Best Road to head south, and return at 6 p.m. Cost is $62 and includes both transportation and a ticket to the festival.
Christianson’s Nursery in Mount Vernon will return to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show taking place Feb. 15–19 at the Seattle Convention Center. Additionally, they’ll be offering “flower buses” to the big city from their home base on Best Road.
(Photo courtesy of NW Flower & Garden Show)
Like the Garden Spot, Christianson’s will also host its own winter festival the weekend following the Seattle gathering. On Feb. 25–26, the 17th annual event, “A Fascination for Hellebores,” will spotlight the hardy perennials known for blooming throughout the winter — even when nights are cold — and providing rich green foliage in the summer.
In addition to the plentiful hellebores which will be on display and for sale, keynote speaker and noted horticulturalist Riz Reyes will lead a free seminar at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at the nursery’s historic schoolhouse. Reyes will discuss the different varieties of the plant and how to use them in the garden, cut arrangements and containers.
Gunderson noted she’s friends with the owners of Christianson’s Nursery, and said My Garden is part of a buying group that includes more than 100 different nurseries in the region. Instead of being rivals, she said, they work together to ensure nobody in Western Washington will ever be lacking for things to grow.
“My husband came from the banking industry, and he said he has never seen anything like the friendship between garden centers,” she said. “Plant people, in general, are good people.”
The Northwest Flower & Garden Festival takes place Wednesday, Feb. 15 through Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Seattle Convention Center, 705 Pike St. Tickets are $21–$26. Info: gardenshow.com.
