If you're an omnihort like me (I just made that up - it means you're into every kind of plant) you don't have an allegiance to any one plant.

I'll never forget the time a friend of mine told me he was the president of the African violets club of Seattle. I said, "congrats!" while thinking, "They have a club for that?"

On the other hand how many of us have had that moment of joy when we discover a group exists for a particular passion of ours that we thought no one else shared?

If you're in to a particular type of flowering plant chances are there's a booth with like-minded volunteers waiting for you today at the show.

I was sucked in to the booth of the American Rhododendron Society, Tacoma Chapter, by their eye-popping display of rhody blossoms.

The blossom in the foreground of this photo I shot there is a cultivar called "Pt. Defiance" because the original bush grows in the park. Its descendants are sold in the trade with that name. Any Tacoman can feel proud over that.

Now, I'm just waiting for the Horsetail Hoarders of Hoquiam, The Dandelion Dames of Des Moines and the Bindweed Boys of Buckley to visit my garden.

They can have all the free plants they want.

A new booth is at the Pt. Defiance Flower and Garden Show this year.

Grow Local Tacoma is a coalition of the City of Tacoma, Tacoma Pierce County Health Department, Tagro, the Pierce Conservation District, and Exit133.

Formed just last year the group is dedicated to building community through community gardening.

At the booth this year you can make an edible plant container to take home. (The plants are edible, not the plastic container.) Volunteers like Will Leslie, left in the picture below, were helping show goers like Dorothea Richard of Tacoma fill pots with a variety of vegetable starts in Tagro potting soil.

Richard said she lives in a high rise condo but that wasn't going to stop her from being a vegetable gardener.

Looks like Grow Local Tacoma is accomplishing its mission.

I was dazzled today by the flower boxes on display at the show.

"Feather Your Nest" (above) by Jen Zimmerman won a gold ribbon. If I was a bird I definitely would move in here.

"For Every Time, There is a Season..." by Gaye Hampton-Smith (above) won best in show.

"Four Seasons" by Barbara Lee and Caroline Lee won a silver.

"The Incredible Edible Garden" by Cheri Worsham won a gold. Yes, that's a hanging colander.

While wandering through what is normally Pt. Defiance Park this weekend it's easy to forget that a lot of the wonderful gardens exist there year round.

Begonias grow underneath a trellis at Pt. Defiance Park.

The Metro Parks staff obviously have worked their hands off getting the gardens in top shape. The pride in their work shows.

If you're at the show this weekend check out the permanent gardens as well as the display gardens. You won't be sorry.

I just got back from the Pt. Defiance Flower and Garden show. The weather was a vast improvement over yesterday even if it does feel like June-uary.

I really enjoyed myself today. I came home with some tomato starts, a copper leafed ninebark and an ornamental rhubarb.

As I was in line to get a hot dog (the line at the crepes booth was too long) I overheard a woman tell another: "This is the best garden show I've ever been to." Her friend agreed, both saying it was better than the behemoth that is the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle.

I leaned in to eavesdrop further. They both said they enjoyed the fact that the PDF&G show is outdoors and spacious.

After I thought about it I had to agree. This year's display garden design winner is as good as anything you'll see in Seattle and I really enjoy the outdoors in Tacoma rather than being confined indoors with the crowds in Seattle. I'm not ready to say the PDF&G show beats the NWF&G show but I'd say they are giving them a run for the money.

Two vendors are offering unique and striking metalwork at the show this weekend.

Douglas Walker of Black Creek, British Columbia makes sculpture fountains (above) using a variety of metal objects. The centerpieces are brass musical instruments. The creations, with their many moving parts, were drawing quite a crowd today.

I would love to have one of them in my house but at over $3,000 for the largest pieces they are out of my price range. He does, however, have smaller and less pricier versions.

Brett Cleveland of Bellingham also had a crowd pleasing display of his metal work. His minimalist style was a nice complement to Walker’s kinetic assemblages.

Cleveland’s abstract style suggests grasses, flowers and other organic subjects. I could definitely see these in my garden.

The gardeners were lining up 10 deep at the Naylor Creek Nursery booth a bit ago. The nursery specializes in hostas, and, yes, that's really obvious from the booth. There are hundreds of hostas of all sizes and varieties, including some really gorgeous variegated ones that would look stunning in my back yard right next to my heuchera. I will be returning to purchase some, for sure.

One woman had e-mailed her order ahead and picked up and paid for her plants in about two minutes. Why didn't I think of that? I'm sure the reason why she did so is that Naylor Creek Farm is located in Chimacum and is not open for retail business most of the year. Like a few of the other plant vendors, this may be the only chance gardeners get, beyond mail order, to talk with owners of small, specialized nurseries, and pick up rare finds. That's really what gardeners here are after – things they can't get anywhere else. And this show delivers. A cursory look at the plant booths shows there are some serious bargains to be found, too.

Our garden writer Jean Parietti will be writing about hostas in July. If you're a fan, be sure to watch our Saturday Home&Garden section for the story.

The Naylor Creek booth is located just near the entrance of the plant vendor market.

It's an hour before Marianne Binetti's talk about container gardening, but she is answering questions from gardeners.

A woman just asked how to get rid of dreaded horsetail weeds. Binetti's answer? Don't pull them! It will just stimulate the plant to grow even more. Binetti suggests cutting the horsetail back to the ground, over and over and over until the weed dies a slow death. The trick is to just keep cutting them back, she said, eventually they will go away. Just don't stimulate the roots. They like that.

So how do you get rid of morning glory? "Everyone knows the way to get rid of morning glories is to just move to a new house," said Binetti. Ouch.

It's Craig and I'm here using Sue's computer while she's checking out the gardens. She grabbed her wallet so I'm thinking she's not going to return empty handed.

Here are some photos of the fantastic display gardens.

The garden above is "Moderna Exotique" by Father Nature Landscapes of Tacoma. It's designed by Andrew McCurry and definitely lives up to its name with a tremendous amount of sculpture.

This is the perfect garden for right now (and I mean Right Now - it's raining quite steadily). "Summer Sizzle" by Olympic Landscape and Irrigation of Fife is full of hot summer colors in both plants and materials. I could spend all day here.

I've seen Mark Harp of The Pond Store in Sumner build a pond and I'm sure it didn't take him long to make this beauty (it would take me weeks.)

"Summer Chocolate" by Pamela Richards of Seattle was a study in motion. These pots seem to be moving and the fabric in the background definitely was.

So the rain has stopped, finally, and the sun did come out, briefly, a few minutes ago. There is hope, yes there is hope.This is prime time to get down here. It's not very crowded and the plant selection everywhere is fat and happy. I keep seeing plant porters stroll by with their wagons full of purchased plants, though, so that means the plant vendors are doing brisk business. Craig Sailor just got here, then he was off. He's taking pictures of the Grand Display Gardens.

Nancy Johnson, communications manager of Metro Parks, stopped by the booth to offer coffee to warm me up. I had to politely decline (too much coffee already today, I'm afraid). I asked Nancy what she was looking forward at the show and she said she loves to container garden and will be looking for container inspiration. She's in luck, over by the lodge, there are container garden displays aplenty. I intend to go take off in a few minutes and explore them.... as soon as I stop shivering.... watch for more roving reporter posts from Craig and I in the next hour....

Sue Goetz, who coordinated the Grand Garden Displays at the Point Defiance Flower & Garden Show, handed me a sheet of the display winners a few moments ago (the winners were announced at 9 a.m.)

And the best in show winners are.....

School Display Gardens: Franklin Pierce High School for "Retreat for Two," designed by the Landscape and Turf Students.

Window Box Exhibits: Gayle Hampton-Smith for "For Every Time There is a Season...," sponsored by the Point Defiance Flower & Garden Show Board of Directors.

Container Gardens: Arletta Gardens & Boutique for their display of "Divine Design," which was designed by Wendy Morin.

Grand Display Gardens: Father Nature Landscapes for "Moderna Exotique," designed by Andrew McCurry. Here is a picture of his display:

It's here - Tacoma's (and the region's) largest flower and garden show. We'll be blogging live from the event until our bosses call us and tell us to get back in the newsroom (Craig Sailor and I have three sections to put out today). So, we're all yours and reporting live (woot!) from the show until about 1 p.m.

So far here's what's happened (beyond me sitting down at the News Tribune booth next to the Franciscan Garden Stage; I have a sweet view of the rose garden, by the way):

** It's raining. Well, drizzling really. In that nice Northwest kind of way. Bring an umbrella. Or wear a hat. Hats seem to be the preferred option here.

** Sue Goetz, who is this year's coordinator of the Grand Garden Displays just stopped by to give me the list of garden display winners (I'll post them in a moment, watch for it...). She was her usual Sue self, full of cheer -- and she gave me tips of what to check out. She knows I'm obsessed with chocolate colored plants and told me where to go to find them. I'll report more when I see them, maybe even post a pic or two.

** The gravel walkways are very easy to navigate and (for right now), are mud free. Yay! But wear sturdy shoes (ladies, leave the stilettos at home, seriously).

** Peter Gulsrud, one of the chairmen of the show, is in charge of the plant vendor area (and a master gardner). He just stopped by the booth to say hello. I was curious about which plants he's obsessed with right now. He says he'll be roaming around the plant vendor area checking out the hostas, dwarf conifers, bamboos and bonsai starts. So what are you looking for? Post a comment here in the next few hours and we'll go scout for you.