This past Friday, while preparing to give a presentation to a growing crowd at the Southeastern Flower Show, my cell phone suddenly started going nuts, with emails, text messages and phone calls. It was no coincidence that they were all related. News that the Northwest and San Francisco Flower and Garden Show were closing their doors after this year had just hit the news wire.
These were not the first flower shows to close their doors in recent months after long and successful runs. But in spite of the other notable and respected shows making similar announcements in recent weeks, this news still came as a huge surprise. These are the second and third largest shows in the country, only behind the infamous Philadelphia Flower Show. Steadily decreasing attendance, fewer corporate sponsorships and a smaller pool of exhibitors contributed to the shows owner and founder, Duane Kelly’s decision to call it quits after a 20 year run.
I caught up with Duane today for a recorded telephone interview that will air on my next podcast episode of Growing a Greener World this Sunday, February 8th. I wanted a chance to hear Duane’s perspective on the state of gardening shows in general and also to hear his viewpoint from a man I greatly respect and who is well connected. The truth is, it seems every day we’re hearing about another gardening related ‘death’, at a time when the public is craving more access to gardening media and events than ever.
In Duane’s defense, he’s been at this a long time. He’s tired and not as willing to take on the inherent stress that goes with producing shows of this magnitude in such economic times as this. In addition, he wants to spend more time with his wife and concentrate on his other love of writing plays. Sadly, as he looks for a buyer (no firm offers yet although he remains upbeat), a company that was worth close to 10 million dollars a decade ago is struggling to find a buyer at a fraction of that today.
Personally, it is concerning. I’ve spoken at both of these great shows for five consecutive years and will do so again in just a few weeks. I know many share the same thoughts I do about these shows; they are consistently the finest in the country. We talked a lot about that today and how he is able to routinely produce such great shows. If the best shows in the country are throwing in the towel, without a buyer willing to offer a fair price, as gardening enthusiasts, we all need to be concerned. I’m trying very hard lately to not sound so negative but it’s getting harder and harder by the day. As Duane said today, gardening is not the only industry being hit hard right now, and in many ways, we’re fairing better than others. I know he’s right about that but this is the industry I’m paying the most attention to and I don’t like what I’m seeing.
In my next post, I’ll share my personal observations about the NW and SF Flower Shows as a presenter and attendee and why I consider them to be the gold standard. I’ll say this now; I never tire of either show and always look forward to them, even when I fly across country to present and attend and catch a red eye home the next day. It’s always worth it!
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
Hi Clare and thanks for the update to the status of a buyer for the NWFS. Let’s hope as you say, we get a buyer worthy of keeping these shows as good as they have been in the past.
An update: the owner was on a local Seattle PBS employment special this week and stated that he has a couple possible buyers interested in the shows. (His business was one featured as being hit by the economy.) Hopefully the shows will continue on, in as good a form as they have been.
Hi Ellen. Good to see you here. I hear you. I too sometimes hate to admit my bias but I really do enjoy the NW & SFFS experience! Real gardeners and a venue that focuses on feeding gardeners what they are hungry for: lots of great display gardens and plenty of awesome presentations on timely topics from great presenters. What’s not to like?
Having just returned tonight from the Cleveland Home & Garden Show (after 5 days of presentations) I was impressed with the size of the show (I hear it’s the largest H&G show in the country), it was very well attended all week. But, I hear that the crowds this year were down from previous years. That comes as no surprise to me but it still seemed like a robust crowd with a large hall of exhibitors. I’m glad to hear you are reporting good attendance at some of the smaller shows. My hope is that these shows will remain alive and profitable. We need need..for so many reasons.
Thanks Ellen for checking in and sharing your observations. Hope to see you in SF!
These two shows are my favorites, too. Makes me feel a little disloyal to the East Coast Gardening Gang, but so be it. I’ll be at the SF show on 3/19 & 20 and I’m curious to see if it seems smaller and less populated than it did two years ago. I’ve noticed the smaller shows (in the northeast) seem to be going strong. Less expensive to advertise/exhibit there? Fewer crowds? More personal contact? Local vendors? I don’t know why, but I wondered if you’d noticed a similar trend in your travels.
And speaking of shout outs, I read your article in the Mercury News … mentioned it in my latest Compost Pile. …
Happy Valentine’s Day, Joe!
-Nikki
http://www.whgmag.com/583-the-compost-pile-583
Hi Joe!
I read your blog on Garden Rant. Lookin’ good! I also left you a shout out there in the comments section so people could hopefully find the other two guest blogs you recently wrote (the one’s I know of anyway).
Take care,
Nikki
I think things are beginning to narrow down to a small scale community level. There’ll always be flower shows, just not as many.
I’ve been attending the Philly Flower Show (where I first met you) for five years, this one coming up in March will be my sixth. I’m sorry to hear the news about the closings you mentioned, and I’d be terribly sad if the granddaddy of all flower shows were to go under. But it’s a reality that our country is in a recession, and whether you’re an optimist, like me, or a pessimist, one must realize certain things, negative things, will happen when money is tight. I wish Mr. Kelly all the best, but I think he, and other garden industry moguls like him, will survive with relatively little personal financial loss in comparison to regular folks who’re in much worse financial shape. I still have my backyard garden, thank the good Lord. It ain’t much, but it’s recession proof.
Hi Melanthia. I’ve been checking out your blog lately. Nice work you’re doing. Duane Kelly is hopeful that the NW and SF shows will continue and a few prospective buyers have surfaced lately. I’m speaking at the NWFS on the 19th I believe (maybe twice…I get so confused with so many events right now). But, if you happen to be there on that day, please stop by and introduce yourself. I’d love to meet you. Thanks for your comment.
I only just started attending the NW show here in Seattle. With tickets in hand now, I look forward to soaking up all that it will offer this year. There’s always the Tacoma garden show, right?