The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society encourages individual and community gardeners to show off the beauty of their spaces in the annual competition.
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society recognizes the accomplishments of gardeners in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware 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 their entries through 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 10 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 or 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, memorial gardens and more.
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 their upcoming gardening programs and workshops at reduced costs. For more information, or to learn how you can support the Gardening and Greening Contest, visit www.phsonline.org/ggcdonate, call (215) 988–8897 or email ggcontest@pennhort.org.
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1827, whose programs connect people to horticulture and collaboratively creates beautiful, healthy and sustainable communities. PHS’s best known activities include the Philadelphia Flower Show, street tree planting and maintenance, community gardening, public beautification and the PHS Pop-Up Gardens.
PHS is supported by individual members and supporters, foundations, partners and government grants. PHS programs bring together people from diverse backgrounds to engage in horticultural projects that advance social equity, environmental sustainability and urban livability. For information, visit www.phsonline.org.
