Competition Gardens Foster Learning, Friendships, and Beauty

As part of the Hall County Master Gardeners program this year, Garrett Hibbs (Hall County Extension Coordinator) and Bridget Tuckey (Hall County Master Gardener Coordinator) offered trainees the opportunity to design and plant a 7’x7’ competition garden. This assignment was a hands-on way to meet program learning goals and produce mini-demonstration gardens for the organization. Alternatively, trainees could collaborate on renewing one of several existing gardens on the grounds, including fruit and native plant beds. Already, visitors to the Extension Office are seeing the lovely results.

Deborah Harrison and Lu Leitner team up to mulch a garden bed.

Participating in the competition was a fabulous experience! Not only did the project deepen our understanding as we applied principles and information from our materials and lectures, but we bonded during scheduled work sessions, joining forces to amend the soil of the garden plots, install drip irrigation hoses, and haul wood chips to the beds for mulching.

Personally, I learned a great deal as I

• Conceptualized and designed my native-plant pollinator garden 

• Sought and purchased particular native plants (not as easy as I’d anticipated!) 

• Integrated amendments based on soil test results 

• Monitored weather, light, and soil temperatures and

• Helped to set up the irrigation system that will ensure the survival of our gardens. 

As May unfolds, the Extension Office gardens are taking shape and bringing a fresh spark to the premises. To support participants, the program provided gardeners with $100 for purchasing plants and provided tools and materials for establishing these new gardens. Hall County Master Gardeners also offered mentorship and shared plants from their own gardens. Fueled by lectures, fieldtrips, and personal creativity, this year’s participants designed and executed a range of garden types, including a pizza sauce garden, lettuce garden, “Lavender Dreams,” and herb garden. 

Competition gardens will be judged twice by the Master Gardeners membership, once in late May and again in early October. After the final judging, these gardens will be available for adoption into existing Hall County demonstration gardens. The plants of remaining competition gardens will be available for purchase by the public. In early spring 2027, the Extension Office garden plots will be emptied and prepared for the new incoming training class to begin their own gardening journeys.

I’m crossing my fingers in hopes of winning a prize (a nursery gift card, free landscaping consultation, or season pass to the Atlanta Botanical Garden). Regardless, though, as a lucky participant in this meaningful process, I’m already seeing the rewards.

These gardens are open to the public, so if you're in the area, come by the Hall County Extension Office at 734 Crescent Drive, Gainesville, Georgia, and see what we've been up to!