I just spent the last few days (virtually speaking, that is, as I barely left my office) at the GardenComm 2022 Virtual Conference. And it always closes with the annual Annual Honors & Awards ceremony. Well, that was Saturday… and Laidback Gardener won big, with a gold medal (top honors!) in the garden blog writing category.
The award goes to the best-written garden blog in 2022.
Thrilled and Proud!
As you can imagine, I’m thrilled to have won this award. I’ve been writing about gardening for 40 years now, with 65 books under my belt and literally thousands of articles, but I have received very few awards specifically for my writing.
Four, actually:
- (1990), Florida Foliage Association Houseplant Expert of the Year
- Certificate of Appreciation for his contribution to the development of horticulture, Regroupement Expo-Plantes
- Iris versicolor Award (1995) for Best Garden Communicator in the province of Quebec.
- Garden Media Promoter award (2006), Perennial Plant Association.
One Final Effort
Essentially, I’ve never been one to blow my own horn (although I will today!), so have not made much of an effort to enter competitions over the years, not even the wonderful GardenComm Media Awards Program. I figured budding young writers needed the boost more than an old, established freelance garden communicator.
However, as I retire bit by bit from garden writing for health reasons (I suffer from a fatal lung disease that’s brought me very close to the end), I realized this would be my last chance. After all, it’s pretty much certain that I won’t be alive next year. So, this truly is a bucket list item!
To win the 2022 award, I had to submit 3 articles from among those published over the previous 12 months (easy enough to do: my blog is a daily one, so I had 365 choices!) and… kept my fingers crossed. I chose a variety of subjects—plants, science, garden-friendly animals, etc.—in the hopes something would catch the judges’ eye. And obviously it did, as I won the award!
GardenComm, this association of plant people who communicate their passion for plants and gardening, has been like my second family for the last 40 years. I’ve attended most of its symposiums, been on the Board at various levels, hosted the 2013 Symposium here in Quebec City and was even President from 2013 to 2015. I consider many members as my closest friends.
To win this coveted award has been like receiving an honor from my peers. I’m so pleased to have won it!
Thank you so much… and may a budding young garden writer win the award next year!
Larry Hodgson
Still and always the laidback gardener