As everyone knows, the annual Yard, Garden & Patio Show marks the unofficial start of gardening season here in Oregon! This year’s edition will be held February 12–14, 2016 at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd N.E., Portland.
Hours will be as follows:
- Friday, February 12 from 10am–7pm
- Saturday February 13 from 10am–7pm
- Sunday February 14th from 10am–5pm
Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors 60 or better, $9 for kids 11–18, and FREE for kids 10 or younger. There is a $2 off coupon that you can download here.
What you’ll see
The show provides a forum for the gardening public to experience what’s new in the bright, beautiful world of ornamental plant material, as well as to learn new skills and techniques from gardening experts worldwide. It features the latest ideas in plant material, landscaping and related outdoor accessories from more than 300 exhibiting companies and organizations. A series of showcase gardens adds colorful pizzazz to the show floor and provides visitors with a wealth of ideas on how they can enhance their own personal landscapes.
The show also provides unparalleled educational opportunities for the public. The Oregon State University Master Gardeners head a list of more than a dozen non-profit exhibitors whose mission is to educate the public about various aspects of horticulture and the nursery industry’s environmental benefits. On top of that is a program of over 40 hours of public seminars featuring local, national and sometimes even international experts and celebrities in gardening and landscaping.
One of the educational features of the show is the Plant Something Oregon booth (#1682). There, you can pick up your printed copy of the 2016 Retail Nurseries & Garden Centers Guide. We’ll also have information on how Plants Make Life Better.
Oregon’s nursery industry
The growth of the Yard, Garden & Patio show is a reflection of both gardening’s burgeoning popularity as well as the growth of Oregon’s nursery industry in general. Although the show is a consumer-oriented gardening show that primarily showcases the offerings of retail nurseries, Oregon is one of the largest nursery growing states in the country, ranking third in total wholesale sales behind only California and Florida. Oregon’s wholesale nursery industry recorded over $800 million in gross sales of nursery and greenhouse products in 2008. Roughly three-fourths of the nursery stock grown in Oregon is exported to other states or countries, making Oregon the nation’s largest exporter of nursery stock. And the state’s nurseries, as well as all Oregonians, can take great pride in knowing that Oregon is No. 1 in the United States in the production of shade trees, Japanese maples and most other kinds of maples, arborvitae, rhododendron and coniferous evergreens. Oregon also is a leader, ranking second or third nationally, in the production of deciduous flowering trees, azaleas and other broad-leaf evergreens.