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Waverley Garden Awards

These triennial garden awards:

• Celebrate that gardens can bring joy and tranquillity to those around them;
• Recognise that local green thumbs contribute to the quality of our environment and wellbeing, which promote active lifestyles and social connections; and
• Appreciate that gardens come in all shapes and sizes, creatively introducing diversity and vibrancy into the community.

Entries for the 2025 Garden Awards are now open and will close on 6 October 2025.

Any type of garden can be nominated, from balcony gardens to shared veggie patches, native bush gardens and formal courtyards. Enter your own garden or nominate a neighbour. Some great prizes for the winners of each category are up for grabs!

How to enter

1. Complete the online entry form, telling us what makes your garden special and attaching three photos of your garden.
2. You will receive a confirmation email.
3. Entries shortlisted will be judged by an expert panel during a visit to your garden on Thursday 16 October or Friday 17 October.
4. Finalists will be invited to attend the Awards ceremony in November at historic Bronte House.

Award Categories

• My Beautiful Garden: An award for home gardeners, garden designers and landscapers – whatever style of garden, this award is for garden lovers at large. Formal or mixed up the overall effect is WOW.
• Innovative Gardens: You and your garden are doing something different! Your garden might demonstrate a passion for sustainability; you may have created native habitat or have a great fruit and veggie patch. Or you are gardening in a challenging space, including terraces, indoor, balcony and vertical gardens.
• Special Street and Shared Gardens: Celebrating gardens located in public and/or shared spaces, including quality individual street side gardens, community gardens, business and collaborative style gardens.
• Dirt Kids: Recognising that kids can be great gardeners, too!  Open to individuals and groups (under 18 years), including any type of garden within childcare centres, preschool and all local primary and high schools.
• Second Nature Habitat Garden: This award acknowledges the role that residential gardens can play in contributing to biodiverse and resilient built environments by incorporating features and approaches to support habitat, thereby providing appealing spaces for humans, plants and animals to thrive.

Many of the previous winners are involved with our public gardening network in Waverley. Find out how you can get involved and make a difference in your community.

For more information, email publicgardening@waverley.nsw.gov.au.