Many people making their first visit to world-class flower & garden shows, such as the annual events in Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and London, are surprised at their scale, production values and overall quality. And even people who have visited often continue to be amazed and wonder how it all comes together.
As the photos on this page illustrate, a world-class flower show is a huge and complex production. Just as an example, the Northwest Show uses 1,200 cubic yards of sawdust and mulch for the gardens (that's about 150 dump truck loads) and 280,000 pounds of rock. The trucks bringing in the plants for the gardens come from all up and down the West Coast. More than 300 theatrical lighting instruments are hung from the ceiling above the gardens.
Many people are surprised to learn that the companies and organizations creating gardens do not pay the show to exhibit, rather the show pays them a substantial cash subsidy plus provides other support including the lighting, electricity, water, heavy equipment, rocks and mulch. The total direct cost to create the gardens is well over one million dollars.
By giving you a better understanding of what it takes to produce a world-class flower show, we hope that your next visit to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show will be even richer and more enjoyable.
