TORONTO — How does today’s garden grow? With a kitchen garden, scented designer flowers, natural grasses, climate-adjusted tropicals, a bio-retention pond, splashes of colour and plenty of pots, urns and containers. Just ask the gardening experts appearing at the Helping You Grow Theatre during the Successful Gardening Show
(formerly Success with Gardening), March 16 - 19. For four days this March Break, Canada’s leading horticultural authorities will be at the International Centre with tips, trends and techniques to make this year’s garden a stunning success.

Retro is big in fashion, furniture and even food, and now the trend has transplanted itself to the garden. Geraniums, so big in the fifties, are back, this time in vivid new colours with aromatic scents. Colourful tropical plants add Hollywood-era drama to the garden. Anything cedar is coming on strong in foliage and decks. In 2006, the veggie garden gets revisited, only this time it is organic with a formal design aesthetic that adds both appeal and practicality to large or small spaces.

With over 20 free stage presentations, the Helping You Grow Theatre points to a new direction for gardeners. Led by popular gardening personalities such as Mark Cullen, Art Drysdale, Marjorie Mason, Denis Flanagan, and more, the GTA’s most practical spring time garden show offers authoritative how-to advice for both the seasoned and novice green thumb, whether urban or suburban dwellers.

On stage, garden radio show host and columnist, Marjorie Mason blurs the lines between vegetable and flower gardens when she introduces Potager Gardening. Imagine a kitchen garden with a structured design that is a feast for the eyes and the plate - where organic herbs, vegetables and flowers happily co-exist in the yard or on a balcony.

The Helping you Grow Theatre welcomes Grow Magazine editor and landscaper, Jennifer Reynolds to the roster Jen brings top garden trends from around the world including designer geraniums that waft with the scent of chocolate, nutmeg, lime, ginger and cinnamon. She also has news on cedars, tropical plants, colour trends and ornamental grasses to help homeowners update their gardens.

"Residential storm water run-off is a significant source of water pollution in our urban environment," says presenter Peter Wobshall of Green Venture, a not-for-profit organization committed to energy, water and waste reduction. At his Rain Gardens presentation, Peter explains how to capture storm water to improve water quality, recharge groundwater resources, and eliminate wet areas of the garden and property.

Denis Flanagan, host of One Garden Two Looks, offers tips on how to stretch your garden dollar by growing things to eat, composting, recycling and more. The avid gardener advises us to "think of your garden as an exercise in healthy living. Garden and yard work offer endurance, flexibility and muscle strengthening - so pick up a trowel, rake or hoe and get dirty this season."

The Successful Gardening Show runs Thursday, March 16^th through Sunday, March 19^th at the International Centre, 6900 Airport Road.

Admission to this show gets you free entry into the International Home & Garden Show.

PARKING IS FREE!

Show hours are:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10-9; Sunday 10-6.
Adults: $12; Seniors & Youth (9-18 years): $9. Children 9 and under FREE.