Show off your garden and celebrate creativity, sustainability, and community spirit in North Sydney.
Let your garden shine in the 2025 North Sydney Garden Competition, an annual event celebrating local gardening talent, creativity and sustainable practices.
Whether you’re growing herbs on a windowsill, tending a backyard oasis, or cultivating a shared community plot, this is your chance to showcase your space and connect with fellow garden lovers.
The competition is open to everyone – from apartment dwellers and first-time gardeners to schools and community groups.
Winners will be celebrated at the Garden Competition Awards Ceremony, one of the highlights of North Sydney’s community calendar. Prizes include gardening tools and other garden-themed rewards, with recognition across a diverse range of categories.
Every entrant is invited to attend the Awards Ceremony - a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow garden lovers and celebrate our vibrant local gardening community.
New to gardening or entering for the first time?
Don’t worry - this competition is all about celebrating the love and care you put into your garden, not perfection. Every garden has a story, and we’d love to hear yours!
Key information:
- Entry is free and open to all local gardeners within the North Sydney LGA
- Entrants may nominate their garden in multiple award categories, but only one entry per category and garden is allowed.
- Entries close: 24 August 2025
- Judging period: 1 to 12 September 2025
- Awards ceremony: 26 September 2025
Award categories:
- Balcony Gardens – paved areas with pots/planter boxes (e.g., units/flats)
For units/flats spaces with their garden potential maximised through the use of pots, planter boxes, or walled gardens which may include pots, planter boxes and ornaments. These are areas where gardeners are challenged by limited space and lots of hard surfaces. - Courtyard Gardens – paved areas with planted pots in ground-level residences
Often in villas, townhouses, or terraces. While they may also be paved, they can include planted pots and sometimes small garden beds or in-ground planting areas, depending on the layout. They offer slightly more flexibility than balconies in terms of layout and garden design. - Most Beautiful Garden – front/back garden or both
From small to large scale gardens, with native habitats or structured formal gardens, we want to see who has the most beautiful garden in North Sydney. - Indoor Gardens – pot plants or container gardens
From a small collection of pots in the corner to a full-scale atrium, get creative with your indoor plants and show the judge your most spectacular room. - Children's Garden – garden created or cared for by a child/children
This is for gardens created or cared for by a child or group of children. Think childcare centres, schools or just a family backyard with a gardening space dedicated to the kids. - Native Habitat Garden – featuring native flora and/or encouraging native fauna
Have you been demonstrating environmental awareness and creating wildlife habitats with lots of native plants and other habitat features such as hollows, frog ponds and dense undergrowth? This category is for you. - Edible Garden – Private – individual efforts (herbs, vegetables, fruit trees)
For any garden that focuses on producing food. From small balconies with potted herbs to full-size vegetable plots and orchards, show the judge what your household is producing. - Edible Garden – Community – shared efforts (schools, co-ops, communal spaces)
Do you have members of the community working together to produce food for sharing? It doesn't matter is it's on public or privately owned land, we want to see you demonstrate group effort and reward. - Lex and Ruby Graham Prize – Individual – public space beautification
For an individual that is maintaining or beautifying public land. - Lex and Ruby Graham Prize – Group – group effort in a public space
For public areas that are being maintained or beautified by groups of residents. - Judge's Special Award – discretionary award for excellence or creativity
This discretionary award recognises outstanding excellence or creativity in any aspect of the garden competition. It highlights unique, innovative, or inspiring entries that stand out beyond the standard categories, celebrating gardeners who bring something truly special to their garden.