Home and Garden Showcase is April 6 & 7

Home and Garden Showcase is April 6 & 7

By Peggy Werner

With the promise of spring now clearly in view, it’s time to gather ideas to refresh and renovate your home, yard and gardens. The 16 th annual Home and Garden Showcase can help with that.

This year’s free event will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 6 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at Forest Hills Lodge, Highway 173 and Forest Hills Road. The show will feature more than 100 vendors with goods and services for the home and yard.

“Our show is the first sign of spring and people look forward to getting out of the house and getting in the mood for projects they have to do inside and outside, while being able to talk with experts and get discounted prices,” says Andrea Nichols-Costello of Showtime Productions, sponsor of the event.

Vendors this year include those selling solar panels and installation, gutters, windows, siding, bath and kitchen updates, blinds, power washing, landscaping, seed packaging, plants, patios, saunas and more.

Kerrie Rosenthal, co-owner of The Seedkeeper, will return this year with more than 60 gardening helps, tools, and gift items. Among her most popular items is the Seedkeeper Deluxe, a seed storage system that safely holds 100 seed packets and comes with a set of tools and divider cards.

Teague Dickey is CEO of Iconic Energy and will be at the showcase to talk with people about the benefits of solar energy. He will have solar panels and installation materials on hand for people to see as well as a video showing “before and after” images.

“Solar panels are a state-of-the-art upgrade to an existing or new home and they can really impact a home’s value, positively affect the environment, and help people save money. With the federal and state incentives and rebates currently available, the cost to install solar panels is almost totally paid for,” he says.

And the reduced electricity costs are immediate, he adds, with most homeowners saving $800 to $1700 on their yearly energy bills for an average-sized home.

Master Gardeners from the University of Illinois Extension will be available all weekend to host workshops and answer questions, says Samantha Burbach, program coordinator for University of Illinois Extension in Winnebago County.

Saturday workshops include “Give Your Garden the Blues,” by Beth Edwards at 10:30 a.m.; “Growing Veggies 101” by Michelle Cox at 11:45 a.m.; “The

Health Benefits of Gardening and Proper Body Mechanics,” by Connie Austin at 1 p.m.; “How to Kill Your Tree,” by Bob Arevalo at 2:15 p.m.; and “Beekeeping as a Hobby,” by Bob Arevalo at 3:30 p.m.

Sunday’s workshops are “Raised Bed Gardening” by Michelle Cox at 10:45 a.m.; “Attracting Butterflies,” by Michelle Cox at 11:45 a.m.; “Gardening Photography,” by Cindy Vondran at 1 p.m.; and “Seed Starting,” by Brian Rudny at 2:30 p.m.

Master Gardeners undergo extensive training through county extension offices to learn about soil, botany, insects, gardening, plants, landscaping, trees and more, and then volunteer at the County Extension offices, schools, and community gardens to answer people’s questions, identify problems with soil and vegetation, and help teach every aspect of growing from starting seeds to harvesting, Burbach says.

For information on becoming a Master Gardener, contact Samantha at (815) 986-4357 or go online at web.extension. Illinois.edu/jsw.

The showcase will once again feature Planter’s Row, a live plant sale with hundreds of plants at wholesale prices from The Landscape Connection (TLC), 4472 S. Mulford Road.

TLC Owner Michelle Cox says she brings in more than 1,000 plants, including cool season annuals, succulents, starter houseplants, pansies, violas, Martha Washington Geraniums, accent plants, Cool Wave Pansies, begonias, perennials and more.

Members of TLC’s “Floral and Hardy” Garden Club will be at the Home and Garden Showcase to talk with customers and answer questions. The monthly garden club meets from noon to 2 p.m. every third Tuesday of the month at TLC. The business also hosts spring and fall classes, workshops and has a meeting room that can be rented. For a list of upcoming classes, visit thelandscapeconnection. net. TLC also is one of several drop-off sites for homegrown produce from July through October for the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Cox is a regular presenter and workshop leader at the showcase. She also travels the Rockford area to teach classes for businesses and other organizations.

“More and more people are growing their own food, wanting to know how to do it, and what to do with the food when they have it,” she says. ❚