Gardening contest entries due to Philadelphia Horticultural Society June 8
The Philadelphia Horticultural Society recognizes the accomplishments of gardeners in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey with the PHS Gardening and Greening Contest. The contest invites backyard gardeners, community gardeners and all who are passionate about greening public spaces to enter. Participants can submit entries through Friday, June 8.
Participants can include home gardeners with in-ground, combination, container or specialty gardens; children’s gardens maintained by school-age children under the supervision of an adult; community gardeners with vegetable and flower gardens, garden blocks, public-space plantings, and parks; and businesses that have beautified their properties.
The contest categories are: Children’s Garden: A home garden, a plot within a community garden, or a garden on school grounds that is maintained primarily by school-age children, usually under adult supervision. Combination Garden: Any size garden with both vegetables and flowers, minimum of 30 percent in either vegetables/flowers. Container Garden: A garden where most plants are grown in containers, pots, or window boxes. Flower Garden: Any size garden containing mostly flowers and/or trees and shrubs. This includes community flower gardens cared for by three or more people. Specialty Garden: A flower garden including pollinator gardens, native gardens, rain gardens or other gardens highlighting specific plants. Garden Block: A commercial or residential block with container plantings, hanging baskets, and/or in-ground plantings. 
Public Space (Plantings or Parks): Gardens located in public spaces such as parks, libraries, churches, hospital grounds, train stations, traffic islands, businesses or memorial gardens. Urban Farm: An entrepreneurial garden that grows and sells fruit, vegetables, and flowers and donates a percentage of the produce to a food cupboard. Vegetable Garden: Any size garden with mostly vegetables, cared for by an individual, or a community vegetable garden cared for by three or more people.
Entries from throughout the region will be judged on maintenance and horticultural practices, as well as the variety, color, and suitability of plantings. Design and total visual effects, and imaginative ideas will also be considered. Volunteer judges will be chosen for their expertise and achievements. Gardeners whose projects are chosen for recognition will be invited to an awards reception, where photos of the winning gardens will be showcased.
As a thank you for participating, PHS invites all contestants to enroll in its upcoming gardening programs and workshops at reduced costs. For more information, go to https://phsonline.org/ggc, call 215-988-8897 or email ggcontest@pennhort.org.
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1827, whose programs connect people to horticulture and collaboratively creates beautiful, healthy and sustainable communities. Its best-known activities include the Philadelphia Flower Show, street tree planting and maintenance, community gardening and public beautification.
