This year you will find a larger-than-ever array of home decorating and remodeling ideas with displays of windows and coverings, doors, tile, baths, kitchens and more.

Springtime inspires all kinds of home improvement projects and here you will find hundreds of ideas and expert advice for comfortable living.

Come tour the 2008 Gardens of Excellence with Night Lighting and get ideas for your own yard. The 20,000 square feet of gardens are designed and built by members of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado using natural materials as actual replicas of the design work and construction standards of our residential landscape industry.

Again this year, show visitors will also see displays of “Celebrity Patios” within the “Gardens of Excellence.” Each one individually designed by an Associated Landscape Contractor of Colorado, these Celebrity Patios reflect the personalities and tastes of Denver notables including:

• Penny Parker, columnist for the Rocky Mountain News
• Singer, entertainer and radio host Jake Schroeder, Opie Gone Bad
• Pat Grant, president of the National Western Stock Show
• Chef Patricia Perry, owner of Highland’s Garden Café
• Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown
• Mascot Miles of the Denver Broncos
• Museum of Contemporary Art director and chief curator Cydney Payton

Each celebrity provided a wish list for the design of their themed patio, and the patio designers in turn had fun creating patios that reflected their celebrity’s personality, hobbies and interests. Not only will show visitors gather ideas for their own backyards by strolling through the Gardens of Excellence and the Celebrity Patios, but they will come away with a whimsical look at these Denver celebrities. Night lighting throughout the gardens and patios brings even more ideas for Colorado summer evenings.

A highlight of this year’s Show will be seminars by the America’s #1 cleaning expert Don Aslett, author of 30 different books offering tips on cleaning homes and offices. His presentations “Clean in a Minute,” and “Getting Off the Excess Express” promise to educate and entertain you on perennial challenges of going clutter-free and finding the time to clean house. Aslett started his company, Varsity Contractors in 1956 as a way to put himself and others through college. As his company grew, he began writing books and in 1980 he wrote the definitive book on the subject of cleaning and organization, Is There Life After Housework? With the success of Life, he went on to publish such cleaning classics as Clutter’s Last Stand, Do I Dust or Vacuum First and Help Around the House (2007).

Horticulture seminars on the Scien-Turf-ic Stage will include John Cretti's "Gardening with an Altitude" seminars along with experts talking about container gardening and water-thrifty lawns. Click here for the full schedule of seminars and presentations.

Additional special events in the Sogetsu area during the Show include performances of the Japanese koto lute on Saturday and Taiko drums on Sunday.

The koto is a 17-string Japanese musical instrument similar to a zither. The koto concerts will be presented by Koto Colorado, a group noted for their refined and elegant performances of traditional and contemporary Japanese music.

Taiko is a traditional form of Japanese festival drums. Denver Taiko, a group widely known for their powerful and dynamic performances, will present concerts on Sunday.