The Wyong District Garden Competition is on again with this year marking the 48th year it has been run and entries are now open.
Open to all the green thumbs who reside within the former Wyong shire, the competition has a rich history of showcasing the great gardens and growers who call the northern end of the Coast home.
Entries will be closing on August 24, and judging will take place between August 30 and September 3.
The winners will be announced at the Presentation Day in the Function Room at Central Coast Council, Wyong, on September 16.
There will also be a Horticultural Competition on this day, subject to COVID-19 restrictions.
This event will be followed by an Open Gardens Day on September 19 where 10 of the winning gardens will be open for the public to view if COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
Wyong District Garden Competition Committee President, Bill Kuilder, said the competition includes any and all gardens including front gardens, back gardens, courtyards, balcony gardens, culinary gardens, pot plants and plant hangers, school gardens, nursing home gardens, retirement community gardens and business gardens.
“We usually have 20 categories but due to Council reducing their funding we’ve limited it to 10 categories.
“It’s good that we get a variety of gardens and we offer a variety of options, if people have a nice front garden and an ordinary back yard they can just enter their front yard.
“We allow pot plants and hanging gardens which is a pretty popular category, and we see a lot of entrants from retirement villages in this category.
“We also see a range of school gardens, Gorokan actually won last year, and we see really good entries from a couple of schools.
“We also see some pretty good community gardens from Surf Clubs and churches,” Kuilder said.
Last year, the competition received 52 entries, something that Kuilder hopes to match again this year.
“We’d like to think we can get the same numbers again this year.
“Last year we got some new entries, especially with all the new homes being built in the area, we think it’s possible.
“I’d like to think we can get at least 50 again this year.
“We know that the last 18 months have been very tough, but the committee believes that gardening is a great stress reliever.
“Last year, even with the floods and COVID, we were able to run the competition, although we didn’t have the Presentation Day, but we still managed to have the open day, and I think one garden saw 80 visitors come to see it,” Kuilder said.
Entry forms and additional information about this year’s competition are available at local nurseries and garden supply centres, as well as Wyong District Garden Competition’s website.
The committee is also encouraging anyone interested in joining the committee to get in touch as the committee would appreciate the extra help.
Prospective committee members can contact Bill Kuilder at fabill@bigpond.com.
Harry Mulholland