Betting that home is still where the heart is, the arena floor, concourse, and mezzanine levels of the Whittemore Center were filled last weekend, April 1-3, with about 300 stalls spread over 40,000 square feet and occupied by 180 different businesses for the 10th annual Seacoast Home, Garden and Flower Show.

"We draw from local businesses to bring them to the forefront. That's the goal. Many businesses know their product really well, but don't know how to market, especially the smaller businesses," said Karla McGonigle Ficker, co-owner of Dickson and McGonigle, INC., the company that produced the show. Her partner is Cynthia Dickson O'Connor.

The show hosted cooking seminars and product demonstrations by local businesses, and visitors could find anything from specialty foods, flowers, photography, home landscaping and small appliances, to the home itself. Two charities, the Cocheco Humane Society and New Hampshire Society for Cruelty to Animals, were given space to sell donated floral bouquets.

At the Advanced Wildlife Control booth, toy battery-operated skunks squeaked and squirmed on a table and creeping spiders on the wall demonstrated what participants will not find after employing the company.

Norbert LeCompte of Dover and his wife spent three and a half hours browsing specifically for windows because they're remodeling their kitchen.

"We can compare all of (the products) available all in one place," said LeCompte. "We've been married for 50 years and we're about to get divorced over a kitchen window," he said, and the couple laughed.

Event producer Ficker said she worked with the vendors to create a comfortable atmosphere for participants. Vendors did not yell out to passers-by, for example.

Bobby Stead, of North Hampton, stood watching a demonstration of "Kitchen Craft" stainless steel cookware. The vendor, Krista Willet, spoke through a headset microphone while using two hands to flip food in and out of pots and pans.

"I like her presentation. She's soft spoken," said Stead.

The Whittemore Center concourse and lobby held the "garden" part of the show.

One vendor, Piscataqua Landscaping, showcased a Japanese maple tree and Threadleaf False Cypress, among other plants. The company, from Eliot, Maine, does everything from design to installation and maintenance. The booth featured a landscaped walkway complete with a rocky pond and mulch.

"My plant addiction brought me out," said Jake Ouellette, from Madbury, who bought plants from the UNH greenhouse, also a part of the show.

"It was almost too perfect. Everything was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I did not see a single brown leaf," added Ouellette. He said he found a 20-foot palm tree, something he has not seen at any other greenhouse around. "I wanna know how you grow a 20-foot palm tree," he said.