Features & Attractions

As you enter the show, check out the 2019 National Plants of the Year from Proven Winners®, The #1 Plant Brand®, new to Garden Centers Spring 2019!

With kids in free till noon, a pancake breakfast from 9am-11am and special events through the morning and afternoon, Saturday is the day Families LOVE at the Home & Garden Show!

Schedule of Activities:

PLUS activities all day with Grace Adventures, an appearance by Crash from the West Michigan Whitecaps & performances by the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony

This year, all eleven spectacular gardens will be designed to the theme “Colorful Encounters”. Each of our wonderful designers will interpret that theme and incorporate it into their design.

The gardens will be competing in three categories – Peer Vote, where one lucky landscape designer will win the Golden Shovel for impressing their fellow designers, Professional Vote, where local designers and professionals will judge the designs based on several criteria, and a Public Vote, which is where YOU come in!

Vote for your favorite design at the show for your chance to win a one year membership to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park!

Click Here to see the 2018 Gardens – “Celebrating Michigan”!

Friday, March 1 at 6pm on the Home Stage, watch your favorite local celebrities arrange flowers in a bid to win money for their favorite charity! Hosted by 13 ON YOUR SIDE‘s Catherine Behrendt & J Schwanke

The Prize:

Grand Prize $500 for the Winning Charity!

The winner is determined by audience applause! Cheer on your favorite celebrity or charity! Runners-up win $100 each for their charity.

The Players:

Aaron Ofseyer – 13 ON YOUR SIDE, playing for Kids’ Food Basket

Tammy Squire – VP of Development of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, playing for the GRPM

Heather Duffy – WGVU Membership Development, playing for WGVU Public Media

Michelle McKormick – 97 WLAV Morning Show, playing for Hawkeye & Friends Dog Rescue & Sanctuary

Rick Vuyst – Fruit Basket Flowerland, WOOD Radio playing for West Michigan Veteran’s Coalition

The Sponsors:

Flowers & Foliage courtesy of Sun Valley Flower Farms, Eufloria Flowers, Amy’s Orchids, Esprit Miami, and SF Brannan Street Wholesale Florist and FernTrust

CELEBRATE WOMEN’S DAY – FREE TULIPS!

Courtesy of Sun Valley Flower Farms while supplies last. Women’s Day is March 8.

As you walk through the Grand Gallery, walk the Grand Gallery Garden Path to draw inspiration from the show’s garden center and landscaper designed pocket gardens!

Flower Shop – Stop by the Retail Flower Shop at the back of the Grand Gallery for an opportunity to purchase fresh cut flowers and floral arrangements designed by Michigan Florist. Stop in….Smells are Free! !

Annual Design Contest – The Great Lakes Floral Association’s Design Contest is one of the most prestigious contests in the nation. Design Contest entries will be on display for view in the Secchia Foyer on Saturday and Sunday.

Family Day Project – On Family Day, Saturday, kids can pair up with a Professional Floral Designer to make a flower arrangement to take home for free!

Spontaneous Design Contest – The GLFA will host two pop-up competitions during the show (time/location TBD). All contestants will be given identical flowers and hard goods items to create the designs onsite and unprepared!

The Great Lakes Floral Association is a full-service trade organization representing more than 500 florists, growers, wholesalers and Certified Florists statewide. Located in Haslett, MI, GLFA offers group savings on insurance, financial services, retail bank card processing & supplies, office supplies, and fleet fueling; is the sponsor of the Certified Florist (CF) program; creates and hosts the Great Lakes Floral Expo annually; conducts educational seminars though out the year at the association headquarters; publishes the Professional Florist magazine; hosts the GLFA web site, and interacts with state / federal government agencies.

To find a professional Florist near you visit www.greatlakesfloralassociation.org and click on the Find A Local MI Florist tab in the top menu bar

This annual event for all gardeners, expert to novice, is sponsored by the Kent County MSU Extension:

Warm up winter during the Smart Gardening Conference in Grand Rapids on Saturday March 3! Held in tandem with the West Michigan Home and Garden Show, our day will be jam packed with excellent presenters! Nationally noted presenter William Cullina, Director of the Coastal Maine Botanic Gardens, will captivate you with “Sugar, Sex and Poison-Shocking Plant Secrets Caught on Camera”. Richard Hawke, Plant Evaluation manager and scientist for Chicago Botanic Gardens will explore great perennials for the Midwest that also support pollinators. This year’s speaking lineup also includes a look at the truth about GMO’s and how they could potentially affect the gardener of the future.

We are proud to offer a number of scholarships raised from the generosity of last year’s attendees during out silent auction. Compliments of West Michigan’s commercial garden community the silent auction offered again this year will ensure scholarship dollars are available for years to come.

Everyone looks forward to our Smart Gardening complimentary gift bag, which will feature not only an exquisite plant, but also a waterproof IPM pocket guide for perennials. Your conference registration name badge will provide free access to the West Michigan Home and Garden Show all weekend long!

You can register online or download the brochure that outlines more details about this fun and exciting conference! We hope you can join us!