Northwest Flower and Garden Show, here I come! I am over the moon with excitement. Its official. I will be speaking at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle, Washington. I love the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and try to go each year. It’s the kickoff event for the garden season here in the pacific northwest. As many of you know, I have been speaking at different events over the last few years. I love to share my passion for gardening whether its food or flowers. This is my first time speaking at the garden show and I am honoured to be chosen.
So what will I speak about? My presentation is on ‘How to Create a Successful Kitchen Garden Year Round’. A few years ago we had some tree fall which left us with a huge sunny space full of weeds and heavy clay soil. We transformed this area into a productive kitchen garden. So what is a kitchen garden? No, I am not gardening in the kitchen. Yes, I had someone ask me that. Kitchen garden is a term used for a garden that is more formally laid out compared to an in ground garden. It is also called a potager and is a separate place from the rest of the garden. It’s usually a source of fruits, herbs and vegetables. This aptly describes our kitchen garden as we grow vegetables, fruit and herbs in six raised beds in an area separate from the rest of the garden.
It's been a blessing having a kitchen garden. Late afternoons used to go by and I dreaded making dinner as I would run out of menu ideas. Now that I have a kitchen garden, I let the garden tell me whats for dinner. It's based on what is ready to harvest. One day it may be sweet potatoes so I will make a sweet potato and apple baked dish. It’s just that easy.
Many of you may wonder about growing year round. Here in the pacific northwest we are blessed with warm winds from the ocean which means we have mild winters, little snow but we may have a few hard frosts. In winter I grow vegetables under hoops covered in plastic. This way I can harvest from the garden all year round. There is nothing better than harvesting in the middle of winter.
I won’t say much more but hope you will come and visit the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. The garden show runs from Wednesday, February 22- Sunday, February 26, 2017. I speak on Thursday, February 23 at 6:45pm in the Hood room but will be at the show from Wednesday to Saturday to meet with other gardeners. If you would like to grab a coffee and talk gardening, I am all ears.
For more info about me, you can read my bio here.
