Oct 25, 2018

Participants ‘Get Social’ in AAS Landscape Design Challenge

The All-America Selections’ (AAS) 2018 Landscape Design Challenge, went a bit out of the traditional garden comfort zone with a new theme this year — “Get Social in the Garden.”

For this challenge, AAS provided the gardens with Winner seed from the last five years. They also had the option to incorporate any older AAS Winners from the past 85 years. Gardens not only had to create and execute a design based on this year’s theme, but were also encouraged to generate publicity via social media and “real life” social events.

Gardens were divided into three categories based on the annual number of visitors:

• Category I: fewer than 10,000 visitors per year
• Category II: 10,001 – 100,000 visitors per year
• Category III: Over 100,000 visitors per year

Each of the contest winners are profiled on the AAS website, under “Display Gardens”

A complete collection of photos from all contest entrants can be found on the All-America Selections Flickr and Facebook accounts.

This year’s judges are all industry experts in the field of horticulture and landscaping:

• Jeff Gibson, Landscape Business Manager, Ball Horticultural Company
• Sean James, Owner, Sean James Consulting and Design
• Danilo Maffei, APLD, Principal, Maffei Landscape Design, LLC
• Barbara Wise, Sales and Marketing Manager, Crescent Garden

THE WINNING GARDENS ARE:

Category I: fewer than 10,000 visitors per year

• First Place Winner: MSU-South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, Poplarville, Mississippi.
• Second Place Winner: Kenosha County Center AAS Display & Demonstration Garden, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
• Third Place Winner: Master Gardener Association of Tippecanoe County (MGATC) Display Gardens, Lafayette, Indiana.

Category II: 10,001 – 100,000 visitors per year

• First Place Winner: Purdue Extension Marion County Demonstration Garden, Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Second Place Winner: Jardin Daniel A Seguin, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.
• Third Place Winner: Clark Botanic Garden, Albertson, New York.

Category III: Over 100,000 visitors per year

• First Place Winner: The Annuals Garden & Pavilion (Denver Botanic Gardens), Denver, Colorado.
• Second Place Winner: Norseco at Montreal Botanical Garden, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (second year in a row!)
• Third Place Winner: Green Bay Botanical Garden, Green Bay, Wisconsin.

For more information about the contest winners or how to participate in 2019, contact Diane Blazek, All-America Selections.