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Kitchener in Bloom Awards

Each year the City of Kitchener, along with our local partners, plants the seed with residents and businesses, encouraging them to take pride in and contribute to the city's visual appeal by beautifying their property through gardening. Those who go above and beyond to 'pretty our city' may be considered for a Kitchener in Bloom award.

To nominate a property, please send the address to kitchenerinbloom@kitchener.ca and we will take care of the rest (see below for categories and criteria). Nomination deadline is July 16, 2012.

Look for more nominee photos to be added as they are received.

Bloom Bus Tour

The Bloom Bus Tour is a FREE tour of selected properties showcasing the various styles and environmentally friendly gardening being practiced in our community. Registered guests will spend a lovely afternoon being escorted to the various locations and will take a break to enjoy refreshments at a local community centre.

This year's Bloom Bus tour will take place on Sunday, August 12, from 1 - 4 p.m.. The deadline to reserve your seat on the Bloom Bus tour is Wednesday, August 8. Seats are available on a first come first served basis, so reserve your seats early by calling 519-741-2224 (please leave your name, number of seats you would like to reserve and your phone number).

The Program

The annual program is made up of three components:

Residential front-yard awards: Recognizes residents who turn their front yards into a charming haven, filled with gardens and greenery. All nominated properties receive a certificate recognizing their contribution to making our city beautiful.

Environmental recognition awards: Recognizes those who practise environmental solutions while maintaining beautiful lawns and gardens. Winning methods include the use of drought resistant plant material and native plant species; compliance with watering restrictions and the pesticide bylaw.

Business awards: Honours businesses that make a contribution to the city's visual appeal through the beauty of their property. There are three categories in which businesses can be nominated:

Large-scale business (road view frontage larger than 5,000 square feet) - includes neighbourhood retail, community or regional chopping centres, big-box retail, office buildings and corporate developments, hotels, and industrial properties.

Small-scale business (road view frontage up to 5,000 square feet) - includes small frontage locations of individual retail or commercial service properties such as retail stores, shops, restaurants, taverns, service stations and small offices.

Multi-residential - includes townhouse, condominium or apartment developments (more than three units), private nursing homes or residential-care facilities.

Note: Government properties and places of worship are not eligible.

Criteria Selection

Category nominations are evaluated by a panel of local business and municipal judges, including members of the Kitchener Horticultural Society, Landscape Ontario and Kitchener Master Gardeners. Properties are evaluated on the following:

Contribution to the neighbourhood "curb appeal" (perspective viewed from the adjacent municipal roadway(s)).
Design features including originality of design, proportion and scale, coordination and harmony of colour, surface treatment (appropriate and varied).
Maintenance and horticulture practices including healthy plant life, good up-keep, cleanliness.
Special features, highlights or extraordinary effort.
Compliance with watering restrictions and pesticide bylaw.
Environmental considerations also include use of drought resistant plant material and native plant species.

For more information, please contact Linda Pretty at 519-741-2224 or Janice Ouellette at 519-741-2227.

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