Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc.

Member of National Garden Clubs, Inc

MICHIGAN CONSULTANTS COUNCIL
Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc

Landscape Garden Walk Award Requirements

Three $100 awards are given;
Club membership up to 49
Club membership 50 to 99
Club membership 100 and above

No Book of Evidence is required.
In a large envelope, include the following: MGC Award Application, Walk Map/ticket, Publicity, Labeled photos of the garden walk (limit 14), educational handouts, a one page narrative that show cases the walk; brief description of gardens, number of club members and their participation, member recruitment and educational displays, etc.

The following scale of points is used to Judge Garden Walk Entries
20 points – Clarity of map, tour schedule, location of gardens in relation to distance
20 points – Overall appearance of gardens
20 points – Variety of garden types (Shade, rock, formal, water, etc.)
10 points – Publicity
10 points – Educational value (Plant markers, worthy features)
10 points – Club Involvement (membership recruitment, budget, members involved
10 points – Miscellaneous (floral designs, plant sales, displays, refreshments)
100 Points – TOTAL

AWARDS INFORMATION

Information

Award Categories

Special Awards

Garden Walk Nominations – Helpful Hints for Clubs

There is no official handbook to guide clubs through the process of planning a garden walk but here are a few suggestions to get you started. I welcome more ideas from you as you read through these suggestions.
No Book of Evidence is required.

  • Identify the unique gardens of your members. How do they differ? Are they sun or shade gardens, water features, perennials, mixture of all, trees,        unique plants, etc.
  • THEME – will you provide the various gardens with additional items for a theme? Quilt designs, Victorian, tea parties, gardening with animals, children’s horticulture, friendship garden, etc.
  • Docents and guides could wear gardening hats, special aprons/dresses, create displays of themed items.
  • Do you want it to be a public event? How many gardens can you view in one day – five or six?
  • Committee Captains – publicity, ticket sales, public sponsors, posters, newspaper articles, water stations, snacks, entrance tables/ticket sales at each house, docents in gardens, guides, educational information tables, treats, etc.
  • Parking – city street limitations, residential restrictions, driveways, do you need guides or transports?
  • Vendors – where? Each garden? One garden?
  • Ticket pricing – before event sales versus day of event at an increased price?
  • Give away items – planters, garden art, books
  • Contest score sheets – Children’s discovery in each garden with tucked away animals, garden tools, identify the mystery plant in each garden. Get them all right? Give them a prize. How many pollinators did you see? Can you identify them?

These are just a few ideas I thought of to explore and implement. I welcome more ideas as you plan your garden walks this summer. Let’s keep this listing active and add your thoughts for future garden walks.

The deadline for the Garden Walk Nomination is October 15