Every year I write a column featuring the Northwest Flower and Garden Show -- and with good reason. Held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle (Feb. 8-12), it is the second largest show only to the Philadelphia International Flower Show. Why miss this extravaganza when we are just a hop and skip across the mountains?

Of course, bigger is not always better, but in this case it's true -- both are recognized as being the crme de la crme of all garden shows. Philadelphia may have more than twice the number of display gardens, but Seattle has twice as many seminars featuring regional, national and internationally acclaimed garden experts.

Show producer Terry O'Loughlin stated, "The (display) gardens are a crowd favorite for their beauty, but they also generate take-home ideas for gardeners of all abilities." While this is certainly true, the nearly 120 free seminars featuring the top gurus of gardening are what really set Seattle's show apart from every other garden show.

Display gardens

More about the seminars a little later, but first, a small sampling of what you have to look forward to in this year's Display Gardens, plus other features of the show you won't want to miss.

This year's theme is "A Floral Symphony" and most of the gardens are right on target with the theme. For example, "A Concert in the Park" will be complete with gazebo and musicians. And, of course, no park would be without fabulous flowers and other ornamentals.

Another garden, titled, "Peter and the Wolf -- a Landscape Symphony," is true to Prokofiev's symphony by that name and is set in Grandfather's garden and the surrounding forest, the domain of the ferocious wolf. All the characters of the story are represented by instruments. You can bet that Grandfather's garden will be chock-full of beauty and intrigue.

In "Rhythm and Roots -- a Tribute to Bluegrass," a rustic shelter in the Appalachians is the setting. You will see a combination of instruments just waiting for bluegrass musicians to pick them up and start pickin' away. All of this is surrounded by plantings native to the mountains, along with herb and dazzling flower gardens.

Yet another garden, titled "Tales of Wonder: In a Persian Garden," is inspired by Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade," based on legends from the "Thousand and One Arabian Nights." Look forward to seeing, close-up a lush, verdant Middle Eastern garden.

Of course the marketplace with more than 300 vendors hawking their wares will draw you and hoards of other show attendees. Seeds, tubers, potted plants, including thousands of gorgeous orchids in bloom, will be available. And everything from greenhouses, garden art, gardening books galore, every kind of gardening tool imaginable, plus all kinds of gardening gizmos, will entice you to stock up for the coming garden season.

You will want to linger at the Sky Bridge to study 16 artfully arranged container gardens created by professionals especially for apartment and condo dwellers. Another favorite is the dramatic flower arrangement competition located in the South Lobby. For something new this year, take time to study the 20 unique garden gates fashioned by local talent. You will be inspired to go home and gussy up your own garden gates. These are just some of the many things to explore in this year's 6-acre spectacular show.

Garden seminars

With nearly 120 seminars spread over the five-day run of the show, you will find more seminars of your liking than you can possibly have time for -- even if you went every day to the show. Following are teasers about just five of the seminars I would like to attend. You will undoubtedly find others that appeal to you.

* Recently I saw Joe Lamp'l, host of the popular PBS television show, "Growing a Greener World," feature the NWGS. (His show is sporadically aired at the whim of Seattle's KCTS on Saturdays.) Lamp'l's seminar topic will be "Gardening to Make a Difference." If you have ever seen Lamp'l on TV, you will want to take in his seminar and buy his best-selling book, "The Green Gardener's Guide."

* Fine Gardening is arguably the most beautiful and authoritative ornamental gardening magazine on the market. (It occasionally carries articles on vegetable gardening.) Its editor, Steve Aitken, will speak on "Why Can't My Garden Look Like That?" Haven't we all asked that question many times when we look through gardening magazines and books? Aitken will present a series of questions to ask when you consider how to improve your garden.

* Do you remember Graham Kerr and the "The Galloping Gourmet" that was a big hit on TV from 1969-1971? His seminar isn't about cooking. Kerr has a vision how Americans should get a lot of their fresh produce through a proposal he calls EGGS. That's an acronym for "eat, grow, gather and share." Kerr proposes that you join with 11 neighbors and form an Egg Carton Club. All members promise to grow more of their own garden produce, trade it with one another and then give surplus produce to the needy. After hearing Kerr, you might be moved to start an Egg Carton Club with your friends.

* Rosalind Creasy is one of most popular speakers on today's gardening circuit. Among other things she writes and talks about is edible landscaping. Her best-selling book, "The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping," was first printed in 1982 and was updated in 2011. It is head-and-shoulders above other recent books on the same subject. Creasy isn't talking about just interspersing a few beautiful edibles among ornaments hidden in her backyard. She has them in her flowerbeds that grow right down to the sidewalk in front of her home. No complaints from her neighbors; they love it.

* Jamie Drury's seminar will appeal to you if landscape design is your interest. Drury has hosted and produced a number of popular TV shows on this topic and has authored eight best-selling books on his design work, including "Outside" and "The Outdoor Room." His seminar subject, "The Human Garden," will show you how to make the most of your landscape.

* Would you like to go to the NFGS but don't want to drive over the pass? Take a bus instead. The Harman Center (509-575-6166) will be sending a bus, as will Accent Tours (509-575-3949). But don't delay making reservations because these buses fill up quickly every year. The Harman Center bus was nearly full when I wrote this.

* Freelance gardening columnist Jim McLain can be reached at 509-697-6112 or ongardening@fairpoint.net.