With flower gardens one of the quiet pleasures of life, a new award has been set up to acknowledge the creative flair of Local Governments’ parks and gardens teams. Called the 2004 Australian Local Government Flower Garden Awards, they will be presented in each State and Territory. A national winner will then be selected for their plantings over winter into spring this year.
Bedding Plants Australia (BPA) President, Trevor Gay, said the flower gardens did much to brighten up and add colour to public spaces – whether in parks, malls or streetscapes. BPA is a section of the Australian nursery and gardening industry, and is sponsoring the awards.
“These will be the first awards to recognise the work done by Local Government,” Trevor Gay said. “A great deal of time and effort goes into planning, planting and maintaining gardens.”
The end result is several months of colourful displays which can even reflect special events in their colour and design.
The awards have been endorsed by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA). ALGA President, Cr Mike Montgomery, said Local Governments put a great deal of time and effort into the appearance of their gardens and public spaces.
“We hope many councils will take the opportunity to showcase their gardens displays to the nation by taking part in this inaugural BPA Flower Garden Awards,” he said.
An independent judging panel with people such as gardening personality, Graham Ross, and leading Victorian garden designer, Carolyn Blackman, will assess the entries.
Conditions of entry have been made simple. Gardens or plantings will need to include at least a majority planting of flowering annuals, and simple descriptions accompanied by photographs required for entry. While registration is required by 30 April, entries do not close until 15 October, allowing plenty of time to show garden entries in full bloom over spring. Winners will be announced in late November.
For more details visit www.beddingplants.com.au or contact Neville Sloss on (02) 9360 2757.
