The carnival is coming to town!

Well, all right, it's not a carnival, but it certainly behaves as one. It seems like it comes out of nowhere, then, all of a sudden, it's there. You stand in awe at the size of it, and wonder, "How in the world did they get this stuff in here?"

It's the Northwest Flower and Garden Show coming to the Convention Center on Feb. 18 to the 22. If you haven't been, and love plants and gardens, it's a must go. If you don't care for plants or gardening, and have had your fill of this winter weather, it's a must go.

Before I started vending at this show, I recall getting really excited about the Flower Show and welcomed the month of February. My husband and I would book one of the weekdays to go, and pretty much spend the entire day there.

I made sure we "walked the grid" so I wouldn't miss a thing. It was a true dose of summer in the middle winter, even the air inside the Convention Center is humid and fresh from all the plant matter they schlep in.

The Flower Show really does take you away to another place, even if for a few hours.

It comes out of nowhere, but it's really a year in the making. There's a loyal team of people that work away tirelessly, once this show ends, the process is started all over again. It's the movie Groundhog Day to the extreme, and they've been doing it for years. How's that for a job?

Huge trees and boulders are moved in. Heaps of soil and palettes of plants are trucked in. Waterfalls and mountains creep up from the floor and get covered in vegetation or, rather, "naturalized" into the "landscape."

Full sized gardens are created in the space of days. (Or should that be "daze?') Full sized gazebos, complete garden sheds, old garden trucks, and huge (huge, I tell you!) pots seem to be the mainstays. If that doesn't take you away for while your best bet is at the airport.

Our humble display is on the Skybridge, where we have set up our miniature garden scene for five years now. We've gone ahead and awarded ourselves the "Most Smiles and Laughs Generated" ribbon. There is always a group of people around it during the show, pointing and laughing at the small worlds we've brought to show off.

One of our customers uses the image for her wallpaper on her computer, how's that for a compliment? This year our theme is "A Garden For All Reasons," can you guess what I'm up to?

But you'll have to come and see it for yourself, and get a dose of summer to warm your bones and fill your senses.

More information at: www.gardenshow.com.

Visit Janit's Web site; http://www.TwoGreenThumbs.com. Her online store is http://www.shop.TwoGreenThumbs.com. info@TwoGreenThumbs.com, 206-352-0494.