- The 2025 Central Ohio Home & Garden Show will feature over 300 vendors and local businesses.
- Celebrity guests include HGTV star Rico León and plant stylist Hilton Carter.
Those craving a bit of spring amid the cold winter months can rejoice: the Central Ohio Home & Garden Show is back.
More than 300 vendors and local home and garden businesses are expected at the 2025 Central Ohio Home & Garden Show this year.
Located at the Bricker and Celeste Buildings at the Ohio Expo Center, the fun kicks off Saturday and runs through Feb. 23.
Following this year’s theme of “Garden Friends,” there will be nine intricate gardens designed by local landscape companies for guests to explore and enjoy.
Each garden will center around a common backyard animal — including turtles, bees, birds and butterflies — and include elements supporting the ecosystem and life cycle of its featured animal friend.
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Some gardens will have live animals on-site, and garden elements will include water features, outdoor kitchens, sculptures and more.
Here are things you can’t miss this year.
Gardening with man’s best friend
At the Best Friend’s Garden, Riepenhoff Landscape designed its garden around man’s best friend. Adoptable pals from the Franklin County Dog Shelter will be featured in the backyard scene.
Riepenhoff’s landscape architect Nick Besser found the inspiration from his own family’s German shepherd, Elle, and the whole team agreed that the garden design should reflect man’s backyard friend.
“I think that the best part about the show is that it’s like early spring,” Besser said.
“I’d love to see a half dozen dogs get adopted, and it would be great to see these dogs be as happy as my dog is in a backyard as a backyard friend somewhere.”
Guests can vote for their favorite garden through Feb. 19.
Programming and presentations
The show will host programming and presentations each day. While mainly catered toward adults, there will also be Kids Day on Feb. 17, featuring interactive visits from Dr. Insecta, as well as television characters Bluey and Bingo.
Garden:Central Ohio Home & Garden Show gives you a jump on the growing season
Fun with food
Columbus food journalists will be discussing the local restaurant scene, including the Dispatch’s dining reporter Bob Vitale and Experience Columbus’ Meg Berno.
Columbus Monthly’s Linda Baird will be hosting a Chef Demo Day on Wednesday featuring local chefs.
“I am excited to learn from local chefs about their cuisine and what inspires them, as well as add some new recipes to my repertoire,” Baird said.
Celebrity appearances
This year’s celebrity guests include HGTV star Rico León from “Rico to the Rescue” and plant and interior stylist, five-time author and host of “Inside Hilton’s Head” podcast Hilton Carter.
Carter, who will be leading a segment Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. on plant care and styling, said he is excited to connect with fellow plant lovers.
“I’m excited to be in the presence of other plant-loving individuals; obviously, it’s an event that will bring them all out,” he said.
“My enjoyment from events like this is in the Q&A portion of the events, where it’s not just people sitting and listening to me. It’s more of me listening to others and responding to talk to them about whatever issues that they might be having at home.”
Tickets and discounts
For the first time this year, active-duty military and veterans receive free admission at the door every day. The show runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day except Sundays, when the show will close an hour earlier at 6 p.m.
Tickets are available online for $10 and will be $15 at the door. The event is free for children, active-duty military and veterans.
Other special discounts are available at the door. For those aged 55 and over, tickets are available for $8 on Feb. 19, and teachers can enter for free Feb. 17.
For more information, vendor updates, tickets and a full stageschedule, please visit dispatchhomeandgardenshow.com or follow the show on Facebook or Instagram (@DispatchHGShow).
Sophia Veneziano is a Columbus Dispatch reporter supported by the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation. She may be reached at [email protected].
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