I'm waking up the slumbering Get Growing blog with sad news: The 2009 Northwest Flower & Garden Show might be the last. The show organizers have been unable to find a buyer for their business and have decided to shut it down after next month's show.

I'll be there on media day, Feb. 17, to report on what may be the final show.

Here's the press release with the full details:

SEATTLE – For more than two decades the Northwest Flower & Garden Show has inspired millions of individuals and families to embrace gardening with its dramatic display gardens and extensive seminar programs. In 2009, the event will make one last spectacular run before closing its doors forever.

“My wife Alice and I have decided that this year’s event will be our last as organizers and we are pulling out all of the stops to make it the best on record. We’ve enjoyed every minute of the past 21 years but are ready to pursue some other passions,” said Duane Kelly, chairman of Salmon Bay Events, the company that founded and owns the event.

Salmon Bay Events also owns and produces the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. The Northwest and San Francisco Flower & Garden Shows are the second- and third-largest flower shows, respectively, in the country; the largest is in Philadelphia. They have earned an international reputation for the quality of the display gardens, seminars, and commercial exhibits.

“We had hoped to sell the shows to buyers that are committed to maintaining their level of quality,” Kelly said. “However, to date, we have been unsuccessful.” Without a buyer emerging he will be closing the business following the 2009 shows.

The last Northwest Flower & Garden Show will be held Feb. 18-22 at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. The flower show was the first major event ever produced at the Convention Center. Over a million-and-a-half people have attended the show since its inception. Annual attendance ranges between 60,000 and 80,000.

Kelly invites gardeners from throughout the Pacific Northwest to visit the 2009 show and celebrate over two decades of flower show magic. He wishes to thank the tens of thousands of people in the nursery and landscape industry, the gardening media, and the horticultural community who have supported the Northwest show over the last 21 years.

The theme of this year’s shows is “Sustainable Spaces. Beautiful Places.” The 26 display gardens will be first-rate – many offering inspiring ideas about sustainability in gardens. Sustainability will also be the focus of many of the 120 free seminars presented by speakers from around the world. For details and tickets visit the show’s website at www.gardenshow.com.

Kelly anticipates that My Garden Spaces, an online community recently launched as a year-round adjunct to the flower shows, will continue beyond the shows.

The cost of admission, which includes entrance to gardening seminars, is: $20 for adults; $9 for students 25 and under with valid student I.D.; $4 for kids ages 6 – 17; and free for children under 5. The shows run from Wednesday through Sunday. Advance tickets are also available at a discounted price of $16 for adults. Tickets

A large, green monster from Japan is invading our state. No, not Godzilla. It's called Japanese knotweed. I know you've seen it, whether you knew what it was or not. TNT reporter Susan Gordon wrote a sobering story about the invasive plant that is taking over riparian areas in the Northwest.

If you missed our story you can read it here.

Here's the scary part: like Scotch broom, Polygonum cuspidatum was imported here as an ornamental.

It's stories like these that make me want to plant nothing but native species in my garden. There are plenty of folks who already do that and I have no quibble with them.

I'm not there yet but I do make sure that the ornamentals I plant aren't invasive. If something gets too thuggish it's out of there.

Having said all that here's the startling sidenote to knotweed. There's a North American native variety that's not only not invasive but much more beautiful than its brutish cousin.

This is Polygonum virginianum 'Painter's palette.' This is the third one I've planted in my garden. They seem to die out after a few years or either I don't take care of them.

I've never seen a shoot, seedling or anything else come off this plant. So, I'm fairly certain it won't take over your garden. It stays small and compact but mostly I grow it because it has the most amazing leaves I've ever seen on a hardy perennial/shrub in the Northwest.

I was out working Sunday near my ceanothus bush, aka California lilac, when I heard a buzz that sounded like a roar.

Dozens of bumble bees and other insects were making a racket gathering nectar. I feared there was going to be a noise complaint soon when a neighbor walked by and said to his wife, "Holy #@!&, did you hear that?"

Here's the sad thing: there wasn't one single honey bee among all those winged insects.

If you haven't heard about the mysterious die-off of the honey bee happening all over the world read this msn story.

Scientists are at a loss to explain the disappearance but lately a virus has been suspected. There have been all sorts of weird theories, none of which I'll give credence to here.

I raised bees as a kid when I was in 4-H and if you can develop a fondness for an insect I have it for bees. But more importantly, bees are a crucial pollinator for crops worldwide.

We can only hope the honey bee will recover. In the meantime, my ceanothus doesn't seem to be lacking winged fans. The photo at left shows my variegated shrubby dogwood invading the ceanothus' personal space.

This is my evergreen barberry (with a ceanothus in the background and a few sprigs of rosa glauca mixed in.) It's going crazy right now with arching branches of neon orange blossoms. It's the most intensely flowered barberry I've ever seen.

Well, I have seen another just as stunning: at the fabled Heronswood Nursery in Kingston where I bought mine as a small twig.

Started by plant explorer Dan Hinkley and his partner Robert Jones the small nursery soon grew both in size and world-wide reputation.

But Hinkley and Jones sold Heronswood to Burpee a few years ago with much controversy. Now, the pair have a new home and stunning garden in Indianola.

TNT reporter Debbie Cafazzo and I visited Dan last week and the busy author, lecturer and world traveler graciously gave us a tour of the garden and talked about life post-Heronswood. You can read the story and see my photos in this Saturday's Home&Garden section in the The News Tribune.

Oh, the barberry...Dan (who has one growing in Indianola) told us last week that he collected the seeds for this bush on the same Chilean island that Charles Darwin collected seeds from.

I think I'll name mine "Charlie."

So much for my wishing of spring to return. I just looked up from my desk to see snow falling outside the newsroom. This was the scene outside our building underneath our coral bark Japanese maple a few minutes ago.

When will end, you ask? All I can offer is the latest forecast from the National Weather Service:

Tonight...Becoming mostly cloudy. A chance of rain after midnight. Lows in the 30s. Light wind.-- Tuesday and Tuesday night...Rain likely. Highs in the 50s. Lows in the mid 30s to lower 40s. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph.

The All-American Rose Selections, a non-profit association that evaluates and promotes exceptional roses, announced today that it is starting regional specific rose recommendations. They've created a list for Northwest rose gardeners, based on our climate of course, that will help guide South Sound gardeners in rose selection.

So what's on the list? I got a release from the group, here it is. (I laughed at the phrase "frequent periods of rain." Yeah, is that what it's called?):

Gardening in the Northwest region - with its chilly winters, mild summers and frequent periods of rain - is full of challenges and rewards. To help ensure people’s success with roses, AARS consulted with regional gardeners and rose experts to determine the most robust roses for this climate. As a result, the 2008 AARS Region’s Choice initiative selected ten rose varieties that thrive in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest:
About Face™
Crimson Bouquet
Honey Perfume™
Sunset Celebration™
Day Breaker™
Marmalade Skies
Cherry Parfait
Gemini
Fourth of July™
Carefree Wonder

Also, the association plans to amend the list annually. The group also launched regional-specific rose lists for the Southwest and Mountain States, too.

Want more detail? Check it here.

I tried to download pretty pictures, but my computer is not cooperating. I'll report back more when I can get someone from photo to give a girl a hand.

I just sat down after wandering about for the last half hour and I just heard the announcement that Brian Santos, the wall wizard guy, is starting his seminar. He's been featured on HGTV's "Smart Solutions" show and on "Good Morning America" show.

Get down here!

For those reading this blog post late -- on Saturday or Sunday -- here is the schedule for Brian's workshops this weekend:

Saturday, Oct. 13: Noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 14: Noon and 3 p.m.

I'm here at the Tacoma Fall Home & Garden Show at the Tacoma Dome. Craig Sailor has flown the coop (he had an engagement he just couldn't get out of). I'm at the News Tribune booth located right next to the front door (look to your right when you get in). The embarassing photo of the Get Growing bloggers is set up for all to see (I might have to hide it).

A few things to guide you as you arrive at the show:

1. Parking. It's $6. Have cash ready! If the lots are full or too busy to get in, you can always try parking on the street down by the Best Western Tacoma Dome Hotel, although parking spaces are hard to find. There is a guy in a gravel lot across the street from the hotel who is guiding cars to a lot with a bright pink sign that says "Parking $3." Who knows what the story is there, but it looks like a good backup plan for parking.

2. When you walk in the main doors, be sure to check out the pretty container garden arrangements from Windmill Nursery in Sumner. I love the container filled with the pink dahlias. I want it in my backyard.

3. When you walk in, look to the table to your right where the programs are. Grab a blue bag when you walk in. It's the best way to gather all the pamphlets and H&G propaganda you'll want to grab as you peruse the booths.

See you at the show! I'll be here until noonish and will post some other tips and tricks for navigating the show. Also, check out our story in tomorrow's Home & Garden section about the five things you can't miss at the show.

News Tribune reporter Melissa Santos today updated readers about $75 million in improvements at Tacoma Community College.

Among the improvements: A Japanese Garden. The 10,000 square foot garden is located near the student center building (look for Building 6 or 7 from the parking lot, it's located just beyond those buildings).

Of course we had to take a field trip. We spent a portion of our lunch break there.

To get there, you cross over a really lovely Japanese bridge that Craig called "very Memoirs of a Geisha."

We both thought it would be bigger. What was impressive were the number of large placement rocks and the layout of the garden, which meandered up a ledge to a shady area. It's a really beautiful space.

Here are a few videos and pics we snapped (don't laugh at my shaky vid skills).

Ok, so that's not a very nice headline, but I'm excited because I've got all kinds of beans coming my way. In a few short weeks, I'll be swimming in them. Time to start compiling some recipes.

In addition, I have what apears to be a bumper crop of peppers coming on. Peppers! I knew my parents could grow them in Eastern Oregon, but I thought it couldn't be done here.

In addition to that, I spent about a half hour last night picking blueberries, which I love love love. I'm also keen on getting some u-pick raspberries in the next week or so. But first, I need to make some leeway on the 15 pounds of apricots in the freezer.

One of my favorite recipes (which I might even make tonight) is easy to make and can be adapted to any fruit. Here's what I do:

Combine 1 stick of butter (plus a little extra) with 2 cups whole oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar (plus more to taste), a dash of baking powder and baking soda (I like to cover all my bases), cinnamon, salt (use your wits) and about 1/2 cup of flour. Mix until it's nice and crumbly. (Can you tell I don't like following directions?)

Press half the mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13 (or thereabouts) baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, pour about 2 1/2 cups of berries, diced apricots or other fruit into a saucepan. Heat and stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar. When it's nice and bubbly, add cornstarch to thicken.

Pour the mixture over the pan, crumble the remaining oat mixture on top and bake until brown and crispy on top, about 35 minutes. Serve hot with ice cream or cut into bars and pack in lunchs. Deeelish.

Whenever I have a gardening question, I go straight to the Master Gardeners at WSU. And Sue and I have not-so-secretly wanted to become one of them for a while now.

Unfortunately for us, our Fridays are kind of booked. But if you're lucky enough to have some free time and you want to become a better gardener, the program might be right up your alley.

Applications will be available Aug. 1. Just contact the Pierce County Extension Office at 253-798-7170 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays or at piercemgtraining@wsu.edu and request an application packet. The cost is $180 for volunteer track, which includes all learning texts.

Applications aren't due until Oct. 1, but you might want to spend some time on it: I hear the program is very competitive.

If you're selected, the classes will be held on Fridays January through March, 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the WSU Puyallup Research Station.

Good luck!

I got a Territorial Seed catalog in the mail this week. It's filled with nothing but fruits and veggies I can grow throughout the fall and winter -- both in the greenhouse and in the garden bed.

I love Territorial, so naturally I was excited ... but Fall veggies already? I don't even have any tomatoes yet! It's no help that some of the fashion magazines I read (for work, of course) are starting to sneak fall fashion previews in. Please, people! I just got over winter -- give me a few minutes to enjoy the sun burns and bug bites.

In other news, clear out your schedule this Saturday for a native plant close-out sale at the Bellarmine greenhouses. In addition to more than 100 native plants at "close-out" prices, they'll have discounted tomatoes, hanging baskets, annuals and perennials. I have a very busy weekend, but I'm going to try to make it so I can pick up some tomato plants.

Here are the details: Sat., June 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bellarmine Greenhouses, 2300 S. Washington St., Tacoma. Bring checks and cash for native plants, or checks, cash and/or credit card for veggies and herbs.