Transit’s guide to designing your spring garden

We’re just a few weeks into a new year, and many folks in Snohomish County are already buzzing about spring and warmer temperatures. If this includes you, and you’re looking to plant a vegetable garden to feed your family, a relaxing patio flower garden, or something in between, the best projects start with ideas.

Great news! Community Transit has bus stops within steps of several helpful nurseries – and using your ORCA card, a convenient transfer or two can deliver you to one of the largest flower shows in the nation, right here in Puget Sound.

2024 Northwest Flower and Garden Festival
Seattle Convention Center

There are 15 Routes in Snohomish County that connect to downtown Seattle. Transfer required. Creating your dream garden starts with research and soil preparation. You’ll enjoy hands-on research with up to five days of horticulture seminars, floral design workshops, garden-themed shopping, and a plant market, and lectures by local celebrities and gardening experts. There’s even a Kids Treasure Hunt – and remember, youth 18 and younger ride free on Community Transit.

The 2024 Northwest Flower and Garden Festival runs Feb. 14-18 at the Seattle Convention Center in Seattle. Radio, TV host, columnist, and best-selling author, Ciscoe Morris, hosts Garden Jeopardy on opening day, as part of an all-star speaker lineup. And there’s no need to worry about parking when you ride the bus to the convention center. Dates, times, and tickets are now available.

Bouquet Banque Nursery
8220 State Ave, Marysville 98270
Routes 201, 202
Plan My Trip

Once you start gathering ideas, it’s time to prepare your space. Experts at Bouquet Banque Nursery and Fishsticks Basketry School can help with that. Both transit routes stop across the street from the nursery. This farm is the largest grower of cyclamen, from seed to plant, in the Pacific Northwest. The farm includes a nursery and a garden, with basket weaving classes using only fiber plants grown on the farm. They offer special events where customers can talk to the owner/grower and purchase plants. Guests are welcome by appointment, to ensure a specialist is available to assist with questions and plant needs.

Lynnwood Co-op
19505 24th Ave W Ste 104, Lynnwood 98036
Routes 107
Plan My Trip

The Lynnwood Co-op is a great place to ask about which plant varieties grow best in our region. They specialize in hydroponic watering, along with grow mediums (soil), plant propagation and care, garden accessories, and pest management. If you’ve considered starting your spring plants indoors, the co-op offers grow lights and soil nutrients to give your plants a solid start before you plant or re-pot them outside. The co-op is about a third of a mile from the bus stop, no matter which route you select.  

Around the region, there are many national garden centers and hardware chains that offer a substantial inventory of plants and garden accessories. They are often a great option for selecting bulbs categorized for spring planting. Which one is your favorite?

Whatever you’re looking for in the spring garden of your dreams— from a shrub with berries to a perennial herb with flower clusters—  you can find it in Snohomish County, and you can depend on Community Transit to get you there. Don’t buy everything at once—  consider how you will transport your purchases back home on the bus with respect to other riders. Many nurseries deliver everything from mulch to fountains, although be sure to inquire about the delivery fee.