The City of Moose Jaw is once again hosting its Beautification Awards program, and the city’s annual nod to Moose Jaw’s outstanding properties will remain open until Friday, July 5.
The yearly awards program has been running since 1981 and provides an official means for property owners to receive some recognition for all their hard work on their residential properties.
The contest divides the city up into four quadrants, and one property from each region will be chosen as this year’s winner.
South Hill includes properties south of Manitoba Street; East End involves properties east of Main Street North to Moose Jaw’s corporate city limits and north of Manitoba Street East; Sunningdale/VLA/West Park/Iron Bridge includes properties located in any of these neighbourhoods; and finally, Northwest includes properties from Laurier Street to Manitoba Street West, and from Main Street North to Thatcher Drive West.
It's important to note that all eligible properties must be situated within Moose Jaw city limits.
The evaluation criteria are as follows:
- The property is free from pests and diseases
- The property is free from weeds and litter
- Effective use of trees and shrubs: which must be well maintained and used effectively to define the space or to provide a practical purpose such as shading a home patio
- Site challenges: include an evaluation of wind and sun exposure, and properties with more challenging obstacles will score higher
- Difficulty of species: species which are more difficult to maintain will be given a higher rating
- Variety of species: a site with a wide variety of species will rate higher than a property with a lower diversity of species or a monoculture
- Use of colour: considerations will be given to a “pleasing” palette and the use of colour to highlight different areas of the property will be evaluated
- Use of texture and form: considers plants with a variety of shapes, leaf shapes and sizes, and flower sizes, plus the effect of grouping these plants to create a pleasing contrast
- Hardscaping and incorporation of decorations: involves an evaluation of elements including walkways, furniture, statues, and flowerpots
- Ability to show well in all seasons
- Overall design and creativity
Judges will only consider the front portion of each yard which must be visible from the street.
All nominees will be contacted by the city prior to judging to confirm their consent to participate in the awards program. Agreeing to the request allows judges to visit your property and photograph your front yard for the purpose of promoting the awards program.
Giving consent means that you permit your name, address, and a photograph of your front yard to be released to the public if you win the contest.
When judging is complete, winners will be contacted and invited to a regularly scheduled city council meeting to attend the awards presentation at a date to be determined.
Each individual property owner may only win a Beautification Award once every five years.
To apply for the awards program or to nominate someone who you feel has done an exceptional job maintaining their yard this year, entry forms can be found online at MooseJaw.ca.
Forms can also be obtained by visiting any of this year’s sponsors. These sponsors are Cornell Design & Landscaping located 11 kilometres south of Moose Jaw, Windmill Greenhouses, located at 1640 Ominica Street East, Emerald Custom Creations, located at 476 Fairford Street West, and Keon Garden Centre, located at 1645 Stadacona Street West.
Once filled out, these forms can be returned to the Parks and Recreation Department at City Hall or submitted electronically to Recreation@MooseJaw.ca.
Remember to act fast — the deadline for applications is July 5.
