Congratulations to the 2024 Monarch Award recipients! Since 2016 the Monarch Awards have recognized and celebrated Hamilton’s ecological and native-plant gardeners. This year there were 26 applicants. Twenty one gardens received visits from judges and of those, eight received a full Monarch Award and four received a Caterpillar-level award.
The Monarch-level award is for gardeners who have met the criteria in most areas and are progressing well in all areas. The eight award-winning gardens—up two from 2022—are exceptional examples of gardening dedication, knowledge, and skill:
Photo: Steve Hill CC BY-NC-ND
Carrie Butcher & Timothy Owen
Sherri & Tim Farnham
Jessica Gale
Anne Goodbody
Steve Hill
Karen Lawrence
Pam MacDonald
Michal Shahar
The Caterpillar-level award is for gardeners who show exceptional progress in a small or difficult site, as well as for beginner gardeners, to recognize a good start on a garden that is not yet ready for a full Monarch Award. All are encouraged to re-apply as their gardens mature, expand, and improve. Here are the 2024 award recipients in the Caterpillar category:
Laura Byron
Jessie Chang
Zoe Frances
Patricia Groleau
Photo credit: Jessie Chang. CC BY-NC-ND
Awards will be presented individually, on Saturday September 14 from 10 am to noon, at Dundurn Park (just west of Dundurn Castle) and also at the regular meeting of the Hamilton Naturalists Club on Monday September 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church at 170 Dundurn Street South.
Since 2016, Monarch Awards have recognized Hamilton gardeners who put nature first by creating habitat with native plants and other wildlife supports. These include: managing rainwater and maximizing infiltration; respecting the soil and the life it supports; and using no pesticides or herbicides. Monarch Award gardens are inpiring, beautiful, and ecologically functional. The volunteer-run program is supported by the Hamilton Naturalists Club, Environment Hamilton, and the Royal Botanical Gardens.
A gardener’s journey to a Monarch Award starts with an online application that includes a questionnaire and photos of the applicant’s garden. Gardens that appear to meet the criteria are visited by volunteer reviewers. Informal and conversational, these visits are a good opportunity for gardeners to receive feedback on their work and make changes that will get them to the Monarch level.
This year’s judges were pleased and a bit surprised by the number of Monarch-level recipients who were new to the program. “We were expecting our 2022 Caterpillar gardens to return for a try at a full Monarch award,” said Bev Wagar, a veteran judge. “But most of our Monarch recipients had not applied before.” One recipient had worked on her garden for four years before considering making an application. Another had waited three years after the initial planting. Others had worked with long-established gardens to gradually convert them to native plants and sustainable practices. One gardener made a complete turnaround in only two seasons.
The Caterpillar-level gardeners showed the judges their knowledge and informed choices. As well, judges saw new home owners take existing traditional gardens and make significant changes in only a year. “It was great to see beginner gardeners growing their own native plants and describing their plans for additional changes” said Bev.
This year the judging team welcomed the participation of volunteers from the Halton Master Gardeners. For many of them, garden visits were an excellent learning experience. “The Monarch Awards program greatly appreciates their involvement” said Bev. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”
“We have been pleased to see that habitat-oriented gardening is becoming more widely accepted in the last few years” said Jen Baker, General Manager of the Hamilton Naturalists Club. “This shift is increasing Hamilton’s biodiversity while creating beautiful spaces for the gardeners to enjoy.”
For more information and to view the award criteria and scoring rubric, please visit the Monarch Awards web site.