Gardenista is holding their second annual design awards for gardeners. The deadline for entries is July 7th. Residents of the USA, Canada, and the UK are eligible to enter.
The nice thing about these awards is that entry is open to reg'lar gardeners in most categories. Amateurs. The people who really know what they are doing. And folks who rent, rather than own their spaces are welcome to submit entries, too. (There are also categories for professionals.)
Gardenista considers a garden anything from a tiny city fire-escape planting, to an indoor houseplant collection, to a rural estate set in dreamy surrounds. Fortunately, the first two two rarely have to compete in the same category as the last!
If you think your garden has what it takes, or know of one that does, read on.
2014 entry in Best Garden, Amateur. Good Dogs Farm, by Maria Nation
Submission requirements for each category (see below) are: six photos of your gardens space; a design statement - in other words a description of what you hoped to achieve. If you are like me, and garden before you think, you just make one up! See some more of 2014's entries to date, here, to get a sense of who is entering what. That Good Dogs Farm is quite a looker.
Winners receive a limited edition designer lamp, by Jielde, but I think the real win is having your garden and images featured on Gardenista.
After submissions are received, readers have till August 8th to vote for selected gardens, and winners are announced on August 9th.
2013 Winner of Best Garden, Professional. Alexander Tasker Marx Landscape Architect
Contest Categories:
Best Overall Garden (Amateur): The best overall outdoor garden designed by a non-professional.
My personal favourite:
Best Small Garden (Amateur): Indoor gardens, houseplants, window boxes, fire-escape gardens, container gardens, vertical gardens, and more.
2014 entry in Best Garden Amateur. Brooklyn Brownstone Garden, by Margaret Wilmerding
Best Outdoor Living Space (Everyone): Outdoor sitting rooms and lounge spaces, outdoor kitchens, outdoor dining rooms, outdoor showers and baths, and more.
Love this category, too:
Best Edible Garden (Everyone): Kitchen gardens, vegetable patches, raised beds, outdoor herb gardens, etc.
2014 entry in Best Small Garden, Amateur. The Backyard, by Joke de Winter
Best Hardscape Project (Everyone): Stairways, decks and patios, driveways, paths, fences, swimming pools, garden gates, trellises, and more.
One day, I hope there will be a category for best lawn, to help shine a light on that particular hotbed of synthetic fertilizers and herbicides. And I hope the best contenders will be lawns allowed to be more natural than the rigid and clipped version, top of page. Steven Schwarz should enter his lawn, when the time comes.
Submit your Gardenista Design Award entries here.
More questions? Check out Gardenista's FAQ's:
You have seven days to take pictures. Got git 'em, garrrrdeners!
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How very exciting! I hope to enter one year, when school is done and I have more time and resources to work on the balcony; however, I'm sure you'll be among the top contenders. Will look out for your entry :) But please post a reminder for the voting date if you can!
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