Is Yard of the Month still a thing? If so, what does it take to get the award, and are the costs worth it?
There are different approaches to finding self-esteem in the garden, from doing one’s very best at something that involves close attention to detail and personal pride in workmanship, to jumping through hoops to prove our worth in the eyes of others, by their mutual standards.
A beautiful lawn with a bottle tree near the porch bears a “Yard of the Month” sign. In this week’s column, Felder Rushing writes about success in the garden, and how not every good approach to gardening follows the rules that earn ribbons and recognition. Courtesy Photo
Mind you, having had my share of flower-show blue ribbons over the years, I am not opposed to getting accolades for hard effort. And I could not have been more pleased at my young boy scout son’s pride when I managed to beat other scoutmasters at summer camp in the Longest Apple Peel contest.
But when it comes to how I garden, I am not competitive. At all. I had an epiphany one day when someone asked if I just don’t care what neighbors think. Without even flinching I replied “Of course I care; I’m not a pariah. But truth is, it just doesn’t matter. I’m not in a competition.”
I picked up on this attitude at a young age when my horticulturist great-grandmother explained to me that to earn a flower show award it isn’t so much what you do, or even your skills; the key is knowing ahead of time what the judges are looking for and toeing those lines. Years later my other grandmother, a blue-ribbon floral designer, agreed. “It’s about following the rules.”
Now that I am a flower show judge myself, I understand. Competition guidelines, from Mr. Universe to the American Gourd Society, are carefully worked out and vaunted, so no matter how deserving an exhibitor or how creative the entry, if it doesn’t cut the agreed-upon muster, it doesn’t get the award.
So back to yard of the month. Usually, judges look for an uncluttered overall streetscape with a well-maintained, weed-free, crisply edged lawn, neatly trimmed shrubs, floriferous color beds kept tidy, and strong non-plant accents, usually near the front entrance. The latter is highly subjective of course; I recently saw a Yard of the Month sign in a tiny city’s suburb that had a blue bottle tree right by the porch steps – but it was exceptionally well-done, sparkly, and complemented the shrubs and house architecture.
My cottage garden will never get such an award, partly because I am not even trying, and partly because, being laid out to be viewed outward from the front porch instead of looking in from the street, it doesn’t fit the norm. Oh, and I don’t have a lawn. And maybe a dozen too many bottle trees and gnomes. To me, every gardener who is out there trying their personal best deserves recognition; why have just the landscape version of Miss America, and not a garden Ugliest Dog contest, too?
Wait – there is one! My neighborhood, a small, egalitarian, somewhat artsy enclave that has fallen between the taste-making cracks, has a Keep Fondren Funky award. Not something that can be earned on purpose, it’s presented anonymously to those who show authenticity, who obviously work hard at just being themselves.
I live there because my personal landscape approach isn’t appropriate, would not be welcome, in neighborhoods with strong HOAs. We still value and encourage community tidiness, keeping trash and cluttered junk out of sight and maintaining the lawn with regular mowing, even if it is a clover lawn with low-growing wildflowers. We just give recognition to neighbors obviously doing their own thing well.
Not everyone’s cup of tea, or blue ribbon. But we bottle-treed-up ugly dogs have pride and self-dignity, too.
Felder Rushing is a Mississippi author, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Think Radio. Email gardening questions to [email protected].
Posted in Columns
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