Gardeners (and garden lovers) join creative forces for Seattle’s first Chelsea Fringe festival

What does an internationally renowned garden show “across the pond” have to do with one woman’s starry-eyed championship for the Pacific Northwest growing paradise that we call home? You’re about to find out.

Sue Nevler is a passionate gardener and an untiring advocate for public gardens and green spaces where plants bring people together. Nevler is also the creative force behind this year’s Seattle Satellite of Chelsea Fringe.

London’s Chelsea Flower Show, the grand dame of all horticultural extravaganzas, has been around for more than 100 years. With opulent gardens, marquees brimming with perfect plants, and the occasional Royal sighting, Chelsea is posh.

In contrast, Chelsea Fringe is all about gardeners, not gardens. Dreamt up by garden writer Tim Richardson in 2011, the Fringe is a not-for-profit collective of volunteers celebrating the many ways in which garden making intersects with art, literature, music, food, craft—you know, everything. From tree planting and tea and cake in the garden, to canine floral crowns and al fresco musical interludes, Chelsea Fringe events are as diverse, eccentric, and inclusive as the gardeners behind them.

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GROW in The Seattle Times