Mark Leichty, Ryan Seele and Ketch de Kanter accept their Best in Show and Best in Division booth awards from Farwest Show Chair Denece Messenger.
Little Prince of Oregon Nursery (Booth #7025) came away with top booth honors at the 2016 Farwest Show. They were given the coveted Ted Van Veen Best in Show award for their clever booth that made striking use of plant material — including sedum wigs for company employees Ryan Seely and Mark Leichty that gave the term “hair farmers” a new meaning. Sedum-strewn guitars completed the look for the Aurora, Oregon-based growers. The booth also was good enough to win Best 10×10 Booth in the Grower Division.
“At the Farwest Show, ‘Far From Ordinary’ is more than a tagline,” said Allan Niemi, Director of Events for the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which produces the show. “We have a number of exhibitors who go the extra mile, and Little Prince was certainly one of them this year.”
In fact, the show has had so many exhibitors pushing the creativity on their booths that the show created a Far From Ordinary booth award to recognize some of them. Winning the award this year were Dummen Group (Booth #8046), Plantaflor USA Inc. (Booth #4055) and Skagit Gardens Inc. (Booth #22037).
The show also gave out several Best of Division awards. Aside from Little Prince of Oregon, they were as follows:
Grower
- Best 10×20 or Larger Row Booth – Valleybrook Gardens Ltd. (Booth #21055)
- Best island Booth – Walla Walla Nursery Co. (Booth #12019)
Service/Supply
- Best 10×10 Booth – Bridgetown Garden Tools (Booth #16057)
- Best 10×20 or Larger Row Booth – Washington Pottery Company (Booth #8025)
- Best Island Booth – McConkey Co. (Booth #16037)
The Farwest Show will continue from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Friday, August 26, and from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturday, August 27. The show serves professionals engaged in the nursery industry and related trades, including retail nurseries, wholesale growers, landscapers, landscape designers, and others involved in the green industry. For more information about the 2016 Farwest Show, visit www.farwestshow.com or download the Farwest Show app for iPhone or Android.
Farwest is produced by the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN), a trade organization that represents and serves the interests of the ornamental horticulture industry. The OAN, based in Wilsonville, represents more than 800 wholesale growers, retailers, landscapers and suppliers. Any revenue realized from the Farwest Show is reinvested into the industry through education, research, marketing support and government relations.
Oregon’s ornamental horticulture industry is among the state’s largest agricultural commodities, with annual sales of $894 million. Oregon’s nursery industry is a traded sector; more than 75 percent of the nursery plants grown in Oregon are shipped out of state. For information, visit www.oan.org or call 503-682-5089.
