2019 Farwest Show offers tours of garden centers, sustainable businesses and wholesale nurseries

The 2019 Farwest Show, Aug. 21–23 in Portland, Oregon, will offer three tours from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20. This year’s three tracks will look at retail garden centers, sustainable business processes and procedures, and wholesale nursery operations. The Farwest tours are sponsored by The Peters Company of Wilsonville, Oregon.

Participants may choose a particular tour that best suits their interests. The tours give industry professionals an opportunity to engage with the best in the industry and gain valuable knowledge along the way.

The cost is $99 per person for those who register before July 31 and $119 per person for those who register Aug. 1 or later. Space is limited as the tours can only accommodate 50 people each. Registered attendees will be transported by motor coach and provided with lunch, beverages, and snacks. All tours will depart and return from the north entrance of the Oregon Convention Center. Personal vehicles are not allowed.

Tour 1: Go-to Garden Centers (Retail Tour) — This tour will explore four of the Portland area’s retail garden centers with reputations for exceptional customer feedback. Attendees will see the merchandise displays, product designs and retail space layouts that make these businesses the highest-rated local independent garden centers on Google and Yelp. Stops will include Cornell Farm (Portland), Farmington Gardens (Beaverton), The Garden Corner (Tualatin), and Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping & Garden Centers (Lake Oswego).

Tour 2: Seeds for Tomorrow (Sustainability Tour) — This tour will shine a light on the sustainability efforts at three different green industry businesses, revealing what is alike and what is different. Participants will see how these operations invest time and money to reduce environmental impacts, improve energy efficiency and transform company culture — and they will also see the returns on these investments firsthand. Stops include The Oregon Garden (Silverton), Little Prince of Oregon Nursery Inc. (Aurora), and Brentano’s Tree Farm LLC (St. Paul).

Tour 3: Growing Landscape Solutions (Wholesale Tour) — This tour will showcase the high-quality trees and shrubs grown in the fertile Willamette Valley south of Portland. Participants will see a range of plant selections across four sites, including growing operations for Japanese maples, grafted conifers, specimen plants, hedge-and-border solutions, azaleas and woody ornamentals. Stops will include Countryside Nursery (Aurora), InstantHedge (Canby), Highland Meadow Nursery Inc. (Molalla), and Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas Inc. (Woodburn). Registration is required for all Farwest tours. Get your tickets online at https://farwestshow.com/register/.