From funding the construction of a beautiful children’s garden to forming programs to battle invasive plants, National Garden Clubs is full of leaders with a desire to improve our world. To acknowledge those who strive to achieve our mission and share our vision for a more beautiful tomorrow, NGC has established awards to recognize the contribution of those who have put forth endless effort to educate youth on the importance of gardening and horticulture, those who tirelessly work to grow club memberships, those who passionately strive to help their community locally and globally and many more. We are proud of our past winners and look forward to accepting applications in order to recognize future winners and their amazing contributions to their communities.
The table below shows the variety of NGC awards established to recognize the efforts of our members and associates who contribute to the enhancement of our world. The intent of this table is to help with the decision as to which award is appropriate. It should simplify the process of application, clarify the deadline, and list the scale of points of how the award is evaluated for each one.
If you wish to review the list of all (over 40 pages) general awards, click here for the NGC Awards Rules.
Award Category | Awards Included |
Submission Process/Deadline |
Forms |
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Award of Excellence
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#23 - Award of Excellence for Non-members #24 - Award for States #25 - Award For Regions |
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Award of Excellence Submission Requirements
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Award of Honor for Members |
Recognition of NGC members, whose volunteer efforts over five years have made an outstanding contribution in one or many of these areas:
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Book of Evidence Format |
1. Community Gardens 2. Civic Achievement 3. Garden Center Achievement 4. Food Bank Donations 5. Special Civic Achievement |
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Rules, Procedure, Scale of Points
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1. Roadside Beautification 2. Community Beautification |
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Environmental Concerns and Conservation
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1. Conservation Activities 2. Litter, Recycling, Reclamation 3. Conservation Education 4. Bird Protection 5. Pollinators 6. Water 7. Organic Gardening |
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1. Flower Arranger of the Year (Vision of Beauty Calendar) 2. Floral Design Program |
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FD-1 Vision of Beauty Entry form
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Flower Show Achievement Awards |
All types of Club Standard, State, Youth and Specialty Shows are eligible if scored 95 or above by evaluation judges.
Click here for a List of Awards Available
See SR-5 below for major non-standard flower show exhibit awards. |
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Award Evaluation/Scale of Points
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1. Container Gardening 2. Edible Gardening 3. Therapy Gardens
(See also Wildlife Gardening below) |
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1. Historic Preservation Project/Garden 2. Decoration of a Historic Building |
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1. Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker 2. Blue Star or Gold Star Memorial Byway Marker 3. Blue Star or Gold Star Memorial Marker at a Civic Location 4. Community Landscape Design 5. Landscape Design 6. Landscape Design for Church Gardens |
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1. Activities/Projects to Promote and Increase Membership 2. National Garden Week 3. Social Media/Website 4. Video/CD/DVD/Flash Drive 5. Radio and/or TV 6, 7 and 8. - calculated; no application |
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MP-2 Scale of Points, NGC Standard
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1. Roadside Plantings 2. Civic Projects with Native Plants 3. Outdoor Classrooms, Nature Trails |
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1. Publications Distributed at least 3 Times a Year 2. Other Designated Publications |
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1. Award of Distinguished Service 2. Citation for Distinguished Service 3. Member Award of Honor 4. Presidential Citation 5. NGC Awards for Major Non-Standard Flower Show Exhibits |
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SR-5 for Flower Show Exhibit Awards application must be requested from NGC headquarters 6 months in advance of the flower show. | |
1. & 2. Single Club 3. & 4. Group of Clubs 5. State Garden Club 6. Judges, Councils, Consultants |
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1. Youth Garden Club 2. Horticulture Achievement 3. High-School Gardeners 4. Youth Environmental Concern 5. Youth Outdoor Horticulture 6. High-School Student Project
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1. Youth Horticulture Education 2. Youth Environmental Education 3. Youth Individual Leadership Award |
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1. Public Education for Gardening for Wildlife 2. Public Wildlife Garden 3. Public Education by Junior Garden Club |
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For a list of IA Awards, click here.
You may apply for as many awards for which you think the project might be eligible. However, you must complete a separate application form for each award applied for, and strongly emphasize the aspects of the project that meet the criteria of that particular award.
For a list of contact information for most award submissions, click here.
Award of Excellence applications are submitted directly to the NGC Award of Excellence Chairman, Donna Rouch, as listed on the application form.
Any state, club, or individual desiring to sponsor the monetary portion of an available award may contact: NGC Awards Vice-Chairman, Debbie Cooper.
Flower Show Achievement Award - Sample Book of Evidence - Mississippi
Flower Show Achievement Award - Sample Book of Evidence - Maryland
For those preparing a Book of Evidence for Flower Show Achievement Awards it is recommended that you prepare it on CD/DVD format.
For Member Garden Clubs, size is determined by the number of members for whom NGC and state dues are paid; this includes Active, Associate, Inactive, Honorary, and any other designation for which dues are paid. Sizes are:
i. Small Club: 29 members and under
ii. Medium Club: 30-59 members
iii. Large Club: 60-99 members
iv. Ex-Large Club: 100 members or more
v. A designation for groups of clubs, councils etc.
For States, applications size is determined by number of members for whom NGC dues are paid, including garden club members, Affiliates, State Life Members, etc. Sizes are:
i. Small State: 999 members and under
ii. Medium State: 1,000-2,999 members
iii. Large State: 3,000-7,999 members
iv. Ex-Large : 8,000 members or more