EVERETT, MAY 29: Sorticulture has blossomed into Everett’s largest celebration of gardens and the arts. Each year it expands in size and spirit, drawing crowds with its vibrant mix of plants, flowers, and artwork. But who are the people who bring this beloved festival to life?
Altogether, the festival boasts 120 garden artists and nurseries.
Sarah Robbins, 2025 Poster Designer
Sarah Robbins created this year’s Sorticulture poster, which can be seen throughout Everett. Robbins is from Rochester, New York, and has been creating ever since she can remember. As a kid, she would illustrate books, make sculptures and paint murals on her bedroom walls.
She believes art is a bridge that connects people, places, and stories. She is primarily a muralist and paints across the country.
“Art has always been a part of me and I’m so grateful to be able to make it my full-time job,” Robbins wrote in an email.
For this year’s poster, Robbins wanted to mix the idea of gardens and art together while also bringing in themes of community, celebration and creativity.
“Sorticulture is all about getting your hands dirty, whether that’s digging in your garden, welding a metal sculpture or throwing some clay, so I wanted the design to have a real makers feel,” Robbins wrote.
On Saturday, June 7 Robbins will be signing posters at the event.
Suzanne Quirk of Vintage Glass Gardens
Suzanne Quirk from Lake Forest Park has been in the glass-making industry for roughly 21 years. Quirk takes old or unused glass and repurposes it into her glass art, mostly botanical-themed. Her goal is to give discarded glass a new life.
Her inspiration for glass florals stems from her experience working at a florist shop when she was 14 years old.
She typically uses eight to nine pieces of glass for florals, letting the glass tell her what it wants.
“Each piece is so unique, each bloom is so unique. Nature is so crazy with what it creates,” Quirk said.
The hardest part about working with glass, Quirk said, is making the movement feel organic and fluid. She has her own at-home studio with 2,000 sqft of glass that she has collected over the years.
“I really look to each piece of glass individually other than just common pieces of class or common flower shapes that people might be drawn to,” Quirk said.
Shannon Buckner of Bent Productions
Shannon Buckner is an artist-blacksmith who creates hand-forged organic and fluid shapes with metal. She has been working in metal for more than 25 years.
She transitioned from pastel painting, textile print and sculptural form to metalwork after taking an introductory metalworking course. She does primarily garden sculptures of fictitious plant species.
To begin the process of creating her pieces, she takes cold steel and puts it into a 2,100-degree forge. When it glows yellow and orange she manipulates the steel with tools. The process can take 20 minutes to 20 years Buckner says, referencing painter Pablo Picasso.
“I think it’s kind of special that there’s female artist blacksmiths. Many people consider it a male-dominated art form or craft. There are actually a few female blacksmiths in Seattle,” Buckner said.
Buckner is working on a series inspired by underwater plants that will be showcased at Sorticulture.
Two years ago, after an arm injury, Buckner had to get creative with her metal work. She began to make fire corals, which are long, wavy metal pieces assembled to look like coral.
“It’s kind of a neat story because from an injury and then being resourceful and figuring out what is it that I can make. I came up with these and they’ve been extremely popular,” Buckner said.
From Port Townsend, Buckner travels to Everett each year for the downtown garden festival. Being able to get exposure for her work and to teach others the craft makes it worthwhile for Buckner.
Her pieces can be found at art shows or by appointment. She is also available for custom work.
Stephanie Meyer of Predatory Perennials
Everett local Stephanie Meyer got into carnivorous plants nearly 25 years ago. She has always loved plants and gardening but for
med a special connection to predatory plants when she saw an American pitcher plant, scientifically known as Sarracenia, in her friends garden.
“I instantly fell in love with how beautiful they are and the fact that they ate flies and hornets. After acquiring some of my own, it became a fast addiction,” Meyer wrote in an email.
Carnivorous plants derive nutrients from trapping and consuming animals and insects.
After quickly accumulating a vast number of carnivorous plants, she decided to try and sell some. She created a Facebook marketplace ad and quickly found that a lot of people were interested. That is when she decided to join farmers’ markets and garden festivals.
“The response over these plants was incredible. I also realized through talking to people how much misinformation about carnivorous plants circulated. Being able to give other gardeners, best practices for growing carnivorous plants has been huge,” Meyer wrote.
Meyer said the most common question she is asked is “How hard are these to grow.” She blames Venus flytraps.
“Venus flytraps are marketed as a house plant, which they are not. Venus don’t act the way a house plant should. They are actually an outdoor perennial native to the U.S. Once people find that out, everything kind of makes sense,” Meyer wrote.
Meyer has been a vendor at Sorticulture for many years, and when she got accepted she was “ecstatic.”
“It was definitely a huge goal and I felt I had leveled up when I was accepted to be a vendor at Sorticulture. This festival hits all the bells and whistles for outdoor gardening. Beautiful plants grown by local nurseries & amazing handmade garden art!” Meyer wrote. “It’s one of my favorite events of my entire year and I am truly honored to be a part of it.”
Trevor Cameron with Sunnyside Nursery
Trevor Cameron has been running nurseries for more than 30 years. He has been the General Manager of Sunnyside Nursery for the past 14 years and is the President of the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association (WSNLA). Needless to say, Cameron knows his stuff.
Sunnyside Nursery is a family-owned business located in Marysville and has been around since 1948. They specialize in many quality plants, mostly locally grown, and have become known for their selection of Japanese Maples, Hydrangeas, Roses, Rhododendrons, Perennials, and much more.
Cameron got into gardening by helping his parents in their garden. His first job was working in a plant nursery.
“I instantly became fascinated with plants, and loved working outdoors rain or shine. I earned a degree in Chemistry, then went right back into nurseries after college,” Cameron wrote in an email.
Cameron’s advice for beginners is to ask for help and to begin with easier plants. Cameron’s weekly gardening column shares gardening advice in a “down-to-earth” way.
“Nothing is worse to me than a novice not asking for help, buying the wrong thing for their location, then watching it decline and thinking they have a black thumb. We all have green thumbs – some just need some help!” Cameron wrote.
An Everett local, Cameron finds community events very important.
“I think its [Sorticulture] a magical festival, a tradition many locals look forward to you, including me, each and every June. I used to miss having it at the park, but being downtown has taken it to a whole new level for sure. More and more plants every year is even better,” Cameron wrote.
Sorticulture is from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 6-7 and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday, June 8. It takes place in the center of downtown Everett from Everett Avenue to Pacific on Colby and on California Street by Funko.
To view all artists and vendors attending Sorticulture 2025 see here.
