Salmon Bay Events, organizers of next month's Northwest Flower and Garden Show taking place at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, has announced this will be the event's last year.

The event has taken place for more than two decades, and will make one last spectacular run before closing its doors forever.

"My wife Alice and I have decided that this year's event will be our last as organizers and we are pulling out all of the stops to make it the best on record. We've enjoyed every minute of the past 21 years but are ready to pursue some other passions," said Duane Kelly, chairman of Salmon Bay Events, the company that founded and owns the event.

Salmon Bay Events also owns and produces the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. The Northwest and San Francisco Flower and Garden Shows are the second- and third-largest flower shows, respectively, in the country; the largest is in Philadelphia. They have earned an international reputation for the quality of the display gardens, seminars, and commercial exhibits.

"We had hoped to sell the shows to buyers that are committed to maintaining their level of quality," Kelly said. "However, to date, we have been unsuccessful."

Without a buyer emerging he will be closing the business following the 2009 shows.

The last Northwest Flower and Garden Show will be held Feb. 18-22 at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. The flower show was the first major event ever produced at the Convention Center. Over a million-and-a-half people have attended the show since its inception. Annual attendance ranges between 60,000 and 80,000.

Kelly invites gardeners from throughout the Pacific Northwest to visit the 2009 show and celebrate over two decades of flower show magic. He wishes to thank the tens of thousands of people in the nursery and landscape industry, the gardening media, and the horticultural community who have supported the Northwest show over the last 21 years.

The theme of this year's shows is "Sustainable Spaces. Beautiful Places." The 26 display gardens will be first-rate, many offering inspiring ideas about sustainability in gardens. Sustainability will also be the focus of many of the 120 free seminars presented by speakers from around the world. For details and tickets visit the show's Web site at www.gardenshow.com.

Kelly anticipates that My Garden Spaces, an online community recently launched as a year-round adjunct to the flower shows, will continue beyond the shows.

The cost of admission, which includes entrance to gardening seminars, is: $20 for adults; $9 for students 25 and under with valid student I.D.; $4 for kids ages 6 to 17; and free for children under 5. The shows run from Wednesday through Sunday. Advance tickets are also available at a discounted price of $16 for adults. Tickets can be purchased via the show's Web site with a special print-at-home option and at many local gardening retailers throughout the Pacific Northwest.