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2026 City Living Displays
Big Inspiration for Small Spaces
For decades, City Living garden displays have sparked creativity in urban dwellers, offering fresh, practical ideas that redefine what’s possible in patios, balconies, and compact city gardens. Located in natural light on the SkyBridge, these artistic installations showcase the ingenuity of the region’s top designers.
Each 12 ft x 6 ft garden is a thoughtfully crafted retreat—featuring cozy seating areas, vertical wall planters, bold plant pairings, rich textures, and even tranquil water features. These container-based masterpieces prove that small spaces can be both functional and stunning.
Created by leading retail nurseries and landscape designers from across the Pacific Northwest, City Living displays highlight the artistry of container planting and the beauty of intimate outdoor living.
Fischer Homes LLC "Birds in the City"
An ode to urban adaptability, “Birds in the City” explores how small spaces can support big hobbies and meaningful connections to nature. Inspired by the centuries-old tradition of pigeon keeping, and featuring live pigeons, this aviary-themed city garden reimagines dense living through vertical design, movement, and sound. A gently trickling fountain anchors the space, creating a calming counterpoint to the rhythms of city life, while salvaged and repurposed materials are woven throughout to maximize utility and minimize waste. Designed to use the full volume of a compact patio, the garden offers places to perch, gather, and observe, celebrating the quiet poetry of human and feathered city dwellers thriving side by side.
Take-home ideas: Design vertically to use small spaces fully, repurpose salvaged materials creatively, and embrace nature-driven hobbies in urban settings.
Lucinda Landscapes “Restorative Rest for the Soul”
Sit back, relax, and revel in this retreat nestled in the bustling cityscape. Bask in a soft color palette and warm glow of integrated lighting, punctuated by vibrant pops of color. Peer through upcycled windows, repurposed to frame views of lush, dense planters full of florals. Perch on hand-made, polished driftwood benches, glossy and reflective of the natural elements that surround us. For condo dwellers and urbanites alike, this mini garden harmonizes functional living with an enduring, soulful connection to the outdoors. Designed to be inclusive and approachable for all ages, Lucinda Landscape’s display serves as an affordable blueprint to cultivating a place of serenity using everyday items and expert container placement.
Take-home Ideas: Upgrade “ordinary” to “extraordinary” utilizing replicas of everyday items to build a refined refuge with accessible materials.
Ma Petite Gardens “Fifty Shades of Blue”
Step into "Fifty Shades of Blue," where Ma Petite Gardens, a show participant for over 10 years, celebrates the soothing power of the color blue in this captivating balcony retreat. Fusing classic elegance with bohemian charm, this garden blends diverse textures and materials to create a space that feels both refined and free-spirited. Reminiscent of the sky, every shade of blue guides visitors through layers of tranquility with a playful twist. From deep indigos to soft powder hues, the palette transforms a simple balcony into a serene sanctuary. Here, Ma Petite Gardens proves that even the smallest outdoor spaces can become beautiful escapes when thoughtfully designed with color, texture, and a touch of wanderlust.
Take-home ideas: Utilizing color and texture to transform small garden spaces.
Obsidian Windchimes and Design “Le Petit Jardin” (The Little Garden)
Designed for children, “Le Petit Jardin” by Obsidian Windchimes and Design fosters imagination in a technology-free zone. Bright annuals, bulbs, begonias, ferns, hellebores, primroses, and pansies are nestled in terracotta and moss planters, creating a soft, inviting landscape. Whimsical fairy houses and handcrafted windchimes made from obsidian and seed pods add a sense of magic and discovery. The garden serves as a gentle play space for children and families, intentionally designed with less stimulation and more room for relaxation. Obsidian Windchimes and Design have participated in the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival for more than 20 years, and all of their windchimes are crafted from natural elements personally collected by the designers.
Take-home ideas: Create tech-free play spaces with soft plantings, natural materials, and whimsical elements to inspire imagination.
Sunnyside Nursery “Tranquility”
Welcome to "Tranquility," where Sunnyside Nursery creates a lush haven that beckons you to slow down and rediscover peace. Here, conifers mingle with cascading hanging baskets while a playful fountain bubbles nearby. This garden speaks to fast-paced souls yearning for balance, families seeking connection, and nature lovers without the time to venture far. Container plants create flexible beauty, window greenery invites the outdoors in, and a cozy reflection nook offers the perfect spot for daydreaming or unwinding. With over 30 years of participation in the festival, Sunnyside Nursery’s expertise proves that sustainable sanctuaries can flourish anywhere, bringing natural beauty right to your doorstep.
Take-home ideas: How to create a quality outdoor retreat in a small space. Ways to connect with natural elements while in urban environments.
The Brocante Beach House “Le Jardin du Temps” (The Garden of Time)
A love letter to Europe, The Brocante Beach House’s “Le Jardin du Temps” blends timeless European charm with quiet beauty and symbolism. Antique statues from Hungary and vintage cast iron urns from France anchor the space among ivy, tulips, spring bulbs, and pansies. Each piece is thoughtfully curated, giving new life to historic objects and preventing them from ending up in a landfill. Designed for the city dweller who dreams of the sprawling landscapes of Provence or the courtyards of Paris, this garden offers an intentional, uncluttered escape from urban noise. By incorporating antique and nontraditional vessels, such as reclaimed sinks and vintage baby baths, the garden demonstrates how objects with history can create a unique, timeless, outdoor retreat.
Take-home ideas: Give antique items new life to create a timeless outdoor retreat.
The Plant Farm “Verdant Dreams”
A bright celebration of spring, this design transforms modern city gardening into an immersive, artful retreat. Bold color and layered texture take center stage, anchored by a lush living wall overflowing with hoyas, tradescantias, and vibrant houseplants, evoking renewal and growth. Minimalist furnishings, including a terrarium table and inviting seating, reference the comfort of a city porch or sunroom, offering a place to pause, recharge, and reconnect with nature. Familiar plants are paired with unexpected discoveries, encouraging curiosity and experimentation. Designed to feel joyful, accessible, and full of life, this display is a reminder that even the smallest spaces can support abundant greenery and everyday moments of calm.
Take-home ideas: Use living walls to maximize greenery in small spaces, mix familiar plants with unexpected varieties, and treat houseplants as functional design elements.
West Seattle Native Garden “Practical Garden”
West Seattle Native Garden presents a colorful witch apothecary garden, inspired by the film Practical Magic, filmed on Whidbey Island. Designed for city living, the display blends native plants with unusual medicinal and edible varieties from local family-run nursery Restoring Eden. Driftwood, beach rocks, and vibrant accents create a relaxed coastal feel, while a bright palette of golden hues, violet, and lush greens brings warmth and energy. A custom freestanding driftwood drying rack showcases dried herbs, flowers, and greenery, highlighting the many ways plants can be enjoyed beyond the garden.
Take-home ideas: Use versatile plants that can be displayed, dried, or eaten to get multiple purposes from a small patio garden.
W.W. Seymour Conservatory of Metro Parks Tacoma “Planetary Sister City”
Peer into "Planetary Patio," where WW Seymour imagines a city living on a world far from Earth. A sister city on a distant planet has received plant gifts from the Pacific Northwest, along with letters detailing a recent visit and memories to share. These familiar transplants are interspersed throughout an otherworldly landscape of glowing, alien flora highlighted by black light. Unfamiliar textures and fabrics create a scene unique to this foreign terrain, while envelopes rest nearby as tokens of the interplanetary exchange. Here, lesser-known earthly species mingle with plants that seem born of another world, their unusual characteristics amplified in the glow. This garden invites visitors to wonder: what would patio life look like under different skies?
Take-home ideas: How to use plants that glow in moonlight for creative garden spaces that shine at night.
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