MISSISSAUGA: February 28, 2005 . . . Homeowners will find fresh ideas to bring their homes to life at the International Home and Garden Show and Success With Gardening Show taking place at the International Centre March 17^th to March 20^th. This March Break celebrity designers and gardening experts entice homeowners to celebrate the arrival of the new season with the latest colours, renovation ideas and gardening tips. One ticket ensures visitors are covered inside and out - paid admission to the International Home and Garden Show gets visitors into the Success with Gardening Show free!
 

Success With Gardening Show

Bring on the green! Amateur gardeners from across the province present visually stunning flowers and foliage at the Ontario Horticultural Association Plant & Flower Competition. The Garden Retail Marketplace features hundreds of exhibits filled with plants, flowers, bulbs and accessories. Take a refreshing break at the Tropical Paradise Dream Gardens and junior gardeners can dig in at the Kids-make-it-and take-it Garden.

Gardening inspiration is delivered fresh daily with a non-stop schedule of seminars and demonstrations at the Gardening Life Helping You Grow Theatre. Crowd favorites include Denis Flanagan of HGTV’s One Garden: Two Looks, Marjorie Mason of CKDO’s Let’s Talk Gardening, local author Liz Primeau, Mark Cullen of CFRB’s The Garden Show, Art Drysdale and humourist David Hobson for the lighter side of gardening. Garden guru’s Grahame Beakhaust, Frank Kershaw, Peter Keeping, Paul Zammit, Kate Seaver and Jack Kent will also be on hand to help budding gardeners get an early start on the season. For schedule information visit www.succesfulgardeningshow.com

At the Ontario Horticultural Association Plant & Flower Competition more than 300 private gardeners display their creative vision and green thumbs with entrees representing innovative themes set out by the association a year in advance. The spectacular and imaginative sights and smells results truly represent the wonder of Mother Nature.

Kids get a leg up on gardening with tree climbing demos from the Urban Forest Council, and interactive sessions on conservation, worm composting and everyone’s favourite - bugs, hosted by the Mississauga Gardening Council.

International Home and Garden Show

Bring the home of your dreams to life as the focus shifts to the outdoors. More than 250,000 sq ft of home products include everything to upgrade the inside and outside of the house. Look for outdoor furnishings and décor products to enhance your outdoor living space. Test the waters for style and value at the Pool & Spa World where outdoor furnishings, pools, hot tubs, spas and water features put the emphasis on relaxation. Check out this year’s show for the latest barbeques, decking, and garage storage solutions and do your part to meet the Kyoto Accord by investigating the latest in energy saving lighting and conservation products. Visitors are encouraged to enter to win a $10,000 shopping spree at the show!

Warm weather creates fertile ground for the next home improvement project. Do-it-yourselfers will want to tour the show for the latest information on kitchen and bath renovations, flooring, building materials, doors, mouldings, screens and window solutions in Renovation World. A range of contractors, maintenance experts and designers will be on-site to answer questions.

During the show’s four-day run Kimberley Seldon host of Design for Living; Mary Dobson of Cityline; John Sillaots of HGTV’s In the Workshop; Frank Cohn of CFRB’s Home Improvement Show; handyman Shawn Monteith; organizational diva Brenda Borenstein; and W Network’s Arresting Design hosts Tammy Schnurr and Jeffrey Fisher will all be making appearances at the Home Improvement Celebrity Theatre. Stop by every hour for tips on the newest colour and design trends, practical do-it-yourself décor ideas and easy home improvement solutions.

Both the International Home and Garden Show & Success with Gardening Show open Thursday March 17 through Sunday, March 20 at the International Centre, 6900 Airport Road (at Derry Rd).

Hours are: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10-9; Sunday 10-6. Admission is $12.00 for Adults; $9.00 for Seniors and Youth (ages 9-18 years). Children under 9 are free. One ticket purchases admission to both shows. PARKING IS FREE.

Admission to the International Home and Garden Show provides free entrance to the Success with Gardening Show