As the snow melts and the rain pours, vendors at the K-W Home and Garden Show shared tips this weekend on how to keep your home dry and prepared for the warmer weather.
The event is one that’s run annually for 45 years.
Georgia Prassas is the president of Ontario Marketing Productions, who produces the event. Prassas told CTV News that she’s done multiple home shows in many cities across Ontario but has since brought it down to one a year, in the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium (The Aud).
She said the show is very popular, bringing thousands into The Aud in its three day run. She said its success comes down to the vendors that show up.
“They come here and they show their best,” said Prassas. “They put on beautiful displays and they’re here to answer questions. Face to face contact is so important in this business, rather than through emails and the internet. It’s good for people to be able to talk to them personally and get their advice and it works.”
Tips to prepare your home and garden for changing seasons
More than 150 exhibitors were on site for the annual show, to prepare attendees for the warmer weather, helping them think about home renovations and projects.
Keith Kindre works for sales and marketing for Omni Basement Systems, whose slogan said they specialize in ‘all things basementy’.
Kindre shared that homeowners with basements should make sure their landscaping is good enough to keep away from the basement walls, ensuring there’s no puddling near them.
He also said to make sure the sump pump, equipment that takes out water from low areas in a house, is updated and maintained with a battery backup in case the power goes out.
“You can spend 60, 70, up to $100,000 or so on your basement but your basement is only as good as your sump pump,” said Kindre.
There’s more to hardwood flooring than just aesthetics.
Doug Sharp is the co-owner of Sharp Flooring Solutions Inc. with his wife. He said that it’s important to choose the right type of wood for flooring, as wood flooring helps control the humidity in a house.
“Wood expands and contracts with humidity,” said Sharp. “So, in the wintertime, someone’s house can be very dry. We like them to have a humidifier in the house. In the summer it becomes very humid out. So, then we need people to use an air conditioner to take the moisture out of the air. With the changing of seasons, the more you control the humidity and temperature of your house, the better your floor will perform.”
Sharp recommends luxury vinyl plank to use as flooring, as it stands up to those changes in humidity and temperature better than a hardwood flooring.
As the weather warms up, gardening season begins.
Barb Kruger is the assistant manager of the landscape supply with Sheridan Nurseries.
She shared that anyone can garden and grow plants, even those living in apartments and basements.
“You can grow things in containers, you can grow flowers in containers, you can grow vegetables in containers,” said Kruger. “It’s one of the easiest ways for everybody to participate.”
Kruger said those interested in trying it out can choose a location to have the container. Based on whether the location is sunny, shaded, exposed or windy will determine what kind of plant is able to grow there.
Kruger said the container is also important.
“The container has to have drainage so the water goes away and doesn’t drown your plants,” she said.
Finally, she said the type of soil you use is important, since it can’t be the same soil you’d use outside in a garden.
“It has to be soil that’s for container gardening. Mostly it’s an equal composition of soil, compost and some kind of nutrients [like] worm castings, manure or something like that. It also has to be fairly airy so that water can drain. Soil that you would get from most places that come in bags will be too heavy and you’ll find that you won’t be as successful with that kind of soil.”
The K-W Home and Garden Show will return March 27 to 29, 2026.
