We are already making plans for 2024!

The 17th Annual South Texas Home and Garden Show is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, 2024.
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The South Texas Home and Garden Show

Our mission is to spread the love of gardening by bringing together area home and garden businesses and organizations and home gardeners to share products and exchange ideas, and to offer information about the benefits of gardening, including exercise and enjoying nature, along with the satisfaction of beautifying the yard and countryside. The benefits of gardening include producing homegrown vegetables that not only taste better, but are more nutritious.

The Wilson County News actually began the Wilson County Gardening Day at Calvin Finch's urging back in 2007. It was held Sunday, Feb. 11, in the parking lot of Richardson Bros Chevrolet! We chose the S.T.A.R.S program at the Floresville Alternative School as the beneficiary of the event. (S.T.A.R.S. was a very successful service-learning  program that allowed participating students to learn about plants and actually to grow their own plants for sale.)

Since that humble beginning, the show has grown and also evolved!

For the next couple of years, it was held in the parking lot of the Floresville High School administration office across from HEB (which is now the Corner Store), before eventually moving out to the Floresville Alternative School campus.

In its 11th year, it was expanded to a 2-day event and was moved to the Floresville Event Center. It eventually went back to a single day.

In 2021, the event was canceled because of the pandemic on what would have been the 15th annual event.

In 2022 the Wilson County News continued the show, going "Back to Our Roots!"

2023 did not disappoint! The March 25, 2023 show continued a celebration of gardening!

We look forward to 2024's 17th annual show! Plans are in the works and the show is schedule for March 23, 2024 in the Floresville Event Center. Please, join us!

Looking Back...

2023: Celebrate spring at 16th annual South Texas Home and Garden Show this Saturday!

March 15, 2022 — Spring has sprung, and that means it’s time for the 16th annual South Texas Home and Garden Show!

Head over to the Floresville Event Center this Saturday, March 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for this free action-packed family friendly event brought to you by the Wilson County News and the Floresville Economic Development Corp. This much-anticipated show celebrates the benefits of gardening, while showcasing local farmers and artisans with more than 80 vendor booths and displays. Admission and parking are free!

Select from plants galore, enter to win one of seven amazing door prizes valued at more than $100 awarded throughout the day, attend classes and workshops on topics from beekeeping to backyard poultry, browse and buy from a variety of vendors, and much more!

Get your plants!

As it’s the South Texas Home and Garden Show, there will be plenty of plants to choose from!
Browse the offerings from the Guadalupe County Master Gardeners, 181 Materials, Color Me Green Nursery, Happy Garden, H-E-B, Labatt Acres Farm, Raging Roots Farm, and Sweet Mesquite Farm.
 
Entertainment
Visit the Black Barn Alpacas in the outdoor area from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., where you can pet and feed the alpacas, and learn about these amazing animals. And take advantage of this great photo opportunity!

Marvel at the skills and abilities demonstrated by the students of Stockdale’s Master Duncan’s Martial Arts. Their high-energy performances are scheduled for 10:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. on the stage in the main showroom.

Enjoy the demonstrations outside by Bill’s Tractor and Hill Country Tractor.

Workshops, classes

Several workshops and classes throughout the day will offer insight into gardening, beekeeping, backyard poultry, and native habitat restoration.

Planning and Preparing a Garden for Spring, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Conference Room 1 — Texas Master Gardener Bill Nodine will share how to get your garden ready for spring, planning considerations, how to prepare soil for vegetable planting, starting and sowing seeds, and growing, nurturing, and harvesting vegetables.

Basics on Backyard Poultry (Hens and Quail), 9-11 a.m., Conference Room 2 — Canutillo, Texas, native and now Wilson County resident Maria Alaniz-George will present and demonstrate her expertise gained from living on a farm and eight years in 4-H, raising meat and fancy poultry of all types.

Raising Happy, Healthy Backyard Chickens, 11 a.m. to noon, Conference Room 2 — Combining her knowledge of raising healthy animals and her engineering expertise, local rancher and engineer Rochelle Rackham has created a backyard poultry haven and will share some helpful and valuable information for a creative approach to raising your backyard flock.

Preparation, Planting, and Maintenance Phases of a Native Prairie Restoration, 1-4:30 p.m., Conference Room 1 — Don Kirchoff, who grew up on a 200-acre family farm in Wilson County, will give a presentation at 1:30 p.m. and will be joined by representatives of some of the organizations involved in the tall grass prairie restoration project undertaken by Don and his family; they will share information and answer questions about habitat and wildlife recovery projects completed and underway, volunteer and agency assistance, and lessons learned.

Is Beekeeping Right for Me? 1:30-3 p.m., Conference Room 2 — Texas Master Beekeeper and Master Naturalist Mark de Kiewiet will discuss beekeeping as a hobby or for income, pollination, where to place a hive, equipment, beekeeper’s calendar, and more.

What’s Happening to the Bees (and Other Pollinators)? 3:15-4:30 p.m., Conference Room 2 — Texas Master Beekeeper and Master Naturalist Mark de Kiewiet talks about declining bee numbers; European honeybee generalists and native bee specialists; the gardener’s role in protecting bees; food and medicinal products from the hive, and more.

Vendors and more!

Browse and shop the plethora of vendors offering home and garden products, lighting, landscaping, health and wellness goods and services, and so much more! Meet representatives from and learn about community organizations, such as the Wilson County Beautification Association, Wilson County Historical Society, Floresville Chamber of Commerce, Women Warrior Veterans of Wilson County, and others.

Get refreshed

Take a break from all the fun to refuel.

Enjoy concessions by the Floresville Chamber of Commerce, and delicacies from food trucks on site — Bobby’s Food Truck, T’s Burgers, and Teriyaki Aqui.

See you Saturday at the 16th annual South Texas Home and Garden Show!

Rescued Flowerpots
The Wilson County Beautification Association is launching a new fundraiser at the 2023 South Texas Home and Garden Show — Rescued Flowerpots!

The association’s Rescued Flowerpots undertaking is a way to give new life to some of those pretty, unused pots many of us have lying around — ones we can’t use but can’t bear to toss out — and at the same time support the efforts of Wilson County Beautification Association, a Keep Texas Beautiful Affiliate, toward its mission of enhancing and preserving the beauty and environment of Wilson County.

Visit the Wilson County Beautification Association booth to learn more about the organization and how you can participate. Pick up a pot or two of your choice for your cash donation, bring your own clean decorative pots to donate, or buy one of the special flowerpots marked for sale. Every donation or purchase earns a chance to enter a special drawing — no need to be present to win.
For more information, call Ginger Coleman at 281-414-2363 or email info@wcba-Tx.org.

South Texas Home and Garden Show
What: South Texas Home and Garden Show
When: Saturday, March 25, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Lauro G. De Leon III Floresville Event Center, 600 S.H. 97 W., Floresville
Admission: Free! Parking is free, too!
More info: See pages 2-4A, or visit www.southtexashomeandgarden.com/, or call 830-216-4519.

Source: https://www.wilsoncountynews.com/articles/celebrate-spring-at-16th-annual-south-texas-home-and-garden-show-this-saturday/

2022: Preview of the 15th annual South Texas HOME and GARDEN SHOW

March 15, 2022 — Plan now to attend the 2022 South Texas Home and Garden Show on Saturday, March 19, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Floresville Event Center, 600 S.H. 97 W. in Floresville. The show is sponsored by the Wilson County News and the Floresville Economic Development Corp.

Admission and parking are free for this family-friendly event, where you can find a wide variety of plants for sale, along with home décor and more offered by 72 local artisans, boutiques, and craft vendors.

The event, last held in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down public events around the world, promises to be bigger and better than ever — and it’s just in time for the start of spring, which officially begins March 20!

Plants, door prizes, more!

At the 15th annual South Texas Home and Garden Show, you can browse and buy plants from:

•Guadalupe County Master Gardeners
•Color Me Green Nursery
•Enchanted Oak Lawn & Garden
•H-E-B
•Happy Garden
•Sweet Mesquite Farm
•The Flower Basket.

Door prizes — valued at more than $100 each — will be awarded hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; emcee Bud Box will announce the winners and provide updates and information throughout the day.

Enjoy a number of free demonstrations and classes, including a workshop at 1 p.m. on using the iNaturalist citizen science app, presented by Texas Master Naturalist-Alamo Area Chapter Vice President Peter Joseph Hernandez. Download the iNaturalist app prior to the workshop. Participants will participate in a “mini-bioblitz” after the classroom presentation, during which Hernandez will help attendees identify animals and plants using the app.

The Wilson County Quilt Club also will be on hand with the Crazymaker III quilt made by Irene Moffett; it includes 9,919 individual pieces of fabric! Tickets for the club’s fundraiser will be available for purchase.

Get moving

Maybe you’ve resolved to get fit this year and enjoy your home and garden more. If that’s the case, get moving at 9:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. with a Camp Gladiator Workout Party by Trainer Gracie C., or check out the fitness demonstration by trainer Julia Weaver. Maybe martial arts holds more appeal? Watch for demonstrations by the American Black Belt Institute at 10:30 a.m., or Master Duncan Martial Arts at 3 p.m.

For the kids

Kids will enjoy meeting Wilson, the Wilson County News mascot, at a Newspapers In Education presentation at 2 p.m., and delving into free kids’ activities — Easter egg decorating and assembling Home Depot building kits.

In addition, the Floresville Lions Club will offer free vision screenings for children ages 5 months to 5 years, 11 months old from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., during the South Texas Home and Garden Show. Vision screenings are one of the ways that Lions Club organizations worldwide reach out to communities to save sight.

For more information about the Floresville Lions Club or this event, call Nancy Hosek at 830-391-5807.

Food and fun

Shopping the plant sales and vendor booths and checking out the kids’ activities and demonstrations is bound to work up an appetite. Get refreshed with concessions by the Floresville Chamber of Commerce or try the delicious treats at the Lumpias Wheel Filipino food truck.

It’s all happening Saturday, March 19, in Floresville. And remember, admission and parking are completely free!

For more information, visit www.southtexashomeandgarden.com, or call 830-216-4519.


South Texas Home and Garden Show
Plan to attend the show!

•Saturday, March 19, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
•Floresville Event Center, 600 S.H. 97 W., Floresville
•Admission is free!
•Shop for plants, crafts, and home and garden items from more than 65 vendors
•Demonstrations and classes
•Concessions and food truck
•Kids’ activities
•Sponsored by the Wilson County News and Floresville Economic Development Corp.
•For full schedule and more information, see pages 2A- 4A, or visit www.southtexashomeandgarden.com.

Plant ID winner!

Congratulations to Donna Garcia of Floresville, the winner of our final Mystery Plant contest of 2022!

Donna’s entry was selected at random from those correctly identifying yellow wood sorrel, a variety of oxalis, from the photo in our March 9 issue. She wins a $25 gift certificate to Sun Junkies Tanning Salon in Floresville.

We hope you enjoyed the Plant ID Contest, leading up to the 2022 South Texas Home and Garden Show.

Source: https://www.wilsoncountynews.com/articles/enjoy-the-15th-annual-south-texas-home-and-garden-show-this-saturday/

2020: Get free plants, meet ‘Dinosaur George’ at 2020 South Texas Home & Garden Show!

February 25, 2020 — A few February rain showers and warmer days — along with wildflowers popping up — are early clues that spring is on its way, and it will soon be time to spruce up our homes and lawns and plant our vegetable and herb gardens.

What better place to begin your springtime planning and shopping, than at the annual South Texas Home & Garden Show in the Floresville Event Center in Floresville? This free activity-packed one-day event takes place on Saturday, March 7, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Arrive early to get one of the free potted flowers or herbs offered to the first 750 families, and plan to stay awhile!

This much-anticipated annual event helps families connect with experts and enjoy informative presentations from local and regional home and garden professionals, while also learning about responsible stewardship of our natural resources.

Activities

The Home & Garden Show is a free, family-friendly event with fun and interesting activities for all ages. Home Depot will return this year with its DIY building projects for kids — a garden show favorite! The Wilson County Public Libraries will be back with fun activities, and others will offer arts and crafts projects, flower-planting opportunities, and more.
 
An exciting new attraction this year is the Dinosaur George Traveling Museum exhibit and show. Enjoy public speaker, author, TV host and writer, and self-taught paleontologist “Dinosaur George” Blasing, who will share his love of “all things prehistoric.” Visit www.dinosaurgeorge.com for more info on this fascinating show and exhibit.
 
Bid in the silent auction! Proceeds from the silent auction, booth registration fees, and plant sales raise funds for youth and adult gardening grants.

Concessions will be available throughout the day.

For the garden

The 2020 rodeo tomato — Red Snapper — will be available for purchase while supplies last, as will a variety of beautiful antique roses.

The Guadalupe County Master Gardeners are busy growing and collecting more than 60 varieties of herbs and vegetables — 12 tomatoes, including favorites Celebrity and Tycoon; 15 peppers, including ghost peppers and habañeros; 20 herbs, five squash varieties, four eggplants, and more! The Native Plant Society also returns this year with a variety of native plants and helpful instruction and information.

Vendors

In addition to plants for gardening and landscaping, visitors will find a variety of products and information for garden and home. Added to the many returning vendors this year are more than 15 new participants, including XTreme Renovation, Southern Twang, and Cutco, a longtime manufacturer of cookware and other kitchenware, garden tools, and knives that boast a lifetime warranty.

Demonstrations

Don’t pass up this opportunity to connect with experts and enjoy informative presentations and DIY demonstrations by local and regional home, garden, and environmental professionals and volunteers. Back by request is the popular vermiculture — growing earthworms — a Master Naturalist/Master Gardener activity.

A new beekeeping demonstration will be offered by the Wilson County Wildlife Management Association, along with interesting information about managing lands for wildlife.

And more!

Meet and talk with representatives from some local organizations, such as: • Keep Wilson County Beautiful (Wilson County Beautification Association) • Floresville Food Pantry
•Frank Dickey of the Texas Community Emergency Response Team, who will be available to discuss Wilson County’s strategic plan and medical life-saving information.

The South Texas Home & Garden Show is sponsored by the San Antonio River Authority, Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District, Guadalupe County Master Gardeners, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Wilson County News, and the Floresville Economic Development Corp.

Proceeds from the show help fund area youth and adult gardening grants for classroom and community gardens.
Learn more at www.southtexashomeandgarden.com.

Source: https://www.wilsoncountynews.com/articles/get-free-plants-meet-dinosaur-george-at-2020-south-texas-home-garden-show/

2019: Home and garden show benefits area programs for students, seniors

May 07, 2019 — The South Texas Home, Garden & Environmental Show is sharing the success of its March 2 show in Floresville. They are accepting applications from area teachers and Master Gardeners for scholarships to be used in their various gardening projects. Organizations have until June 1 to send in their applications. The announcement was made by Bryan Davis, Wilson County AgriLife Extension agent, who spearheaded the event with the support of the Guadalupe County Master Gardeners and other sponsors.

“I am proud to say that each and every one of you have made a difference in the lives of children and adults in our area,” Davis said, in announcing the 2019 award applications.

Organizations that benefited from last year’s show include:
•Karnes 4-H Council, working with Roger E. Sides Elementary School in Karnes City, to establish an ag literacy farm at the school
•Lytle Elementary School, to purchase plants, seeds, fertilizer, gardening tools, and other needed supplies to maintain its gardens
•Poth Elementary School, to help build school gardens that will be integrated into science classes for each grade
•Guadalupe County Master Gardeners, for the La Vernia Primary School Youth Gardens Program to purchase Junior Master Gardener Handbooks for volunteers, and to rebuild and replace garden beds
•Guadalupe County Master Gardeners, for the Community Gardening for Seniors Program, targeting individuals 60 and older with limited incomes.

The South Texas Home, Garden & Environmental Show began as Wilson County Gardening Day in 2007 to benefit the STARS plant program at the Floresville Alternative Center. It was sponsored by Wilson County News, San Antonio Water System, Calvin Finch and KLUP Radio, and Milberger’s Landscaping and Nursery.

The garden show and sale has been held annually since, and gradually morphed into the current South Texas Home, Garden & Environmental Show, held at the Floresville Event Center the first Saturday in March. Next year’s show is set for Saturday, March 7. Show sponsors are the Wilson County News, Guadalupe County Master Gardeners, Wilson County AgriLife Extension, San Antonio River Authority, and Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District.

Source: https://www.wilsoncountynews.com/articles/home-and-garden-show-benefits-area-programs-for-students-seniors/