The West Seattle Nursery has been awarded the Display Garden Founders Cup – Best in Show award for Best Hardscape at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival. The show is on now through February 22.

The winning display was a collaborative achievement led by owner Marcia Bruno and visual merchandiser Carmen Leslie, who worked with a dedicated team of approximately ten people to bring the vision to life.

The garden was inspired by the "little free libraries" found throughout local neighborhoods, designed to evoke a sense of warmth and community. Leslie noted that the team specifically wanted the space to feel like a "cozy" environment where visitors felt truly welcomed, stating, "this is your space, too". While the display mirrored the charm of neighborhood book exchanges, it also included unique features such as integrated electrical power.

The project was the culmination of a full year of planning, with the team intensifying their design efforts in the months leading up to the show. It was described as a true community effort, as the nursery invited customers to donate books for the installation without revealing the final secret concept until the reveal.

Setting up the award-winning display at the convention center was an intensive process that required the full three and a half days allowed by the festival organizers. Leslie credited the success not just to the core team on-site, but to the entire nursery staff back at "home base" who maintained operations during the busy spring season to allow the designers to focus on the competition.