Announcing the 2020 Garden Rose Design Contest Winners
The third Garden Rose Design Contest has been held, and the winners have been selected! Entries were received between May 1 and June 28, 2020.
This year, the contest accepted any type of design, as long as it used garden roses! Bridal bouquets, vase arrangements and large installations were all accepted. This year, we had more than 100 entries, and the quality was superb.
Rather than have a panel of judges as we’ve done in previous years, the winners were selected by a public online vote. Also new to the 2020 contest, worldwide entries were all rated together. We counted the 2,800+ online votes and have the winners!
1, Designer: Nicole Braghin, Plan Design Events (@plandesignevents); Varieties: Juliet (Ausjameson) and Keira (Ausboxer); Photographer: Freire Photography
3, Designer: Charlie Groppetti; Variety: Romantic Antike; Photographer: Brandy Howard
Prizes: First place, all-expense-paid trip for two to Alexandra Farms in Bogotá, Colombia. Second place,500 stems of garden roses. Third place,250 stems of garden roses.
2019 Garden Rose Design Contest: Announcing the Winners
We are thrilled to announce the winners of our second annual Garden Rose Design Contest! Hundreds of entries were submitted, by designers in 37 countries around the world. Ranging widely in style, the submissions truly inspired us with their creative use of color, texture and form, proof that garden roses and floral artistry are a perfect match.
Thank you to all of the participants! We truly enjoyed seeing the creativity of your designs.
Winners, World Contest
Judges for the World contest were Jose R. Azout, president of Alexandra Farms; David J.C. Austin, managing director of David Austin Roses; Tomas De Bruyne, international floral designer and educator; and David Coake, editorial director of Florists’ Review.
First place / Wedding Bouquet, Tobey Nelson, Tobey Nelson Events + Design, Clinton, WA. Varieties: Bridal Piano and Mariatheresia. Photographer: Suzanne Rothmeyer Photography
First place / Everyday Design, Katie Noonan, Noonan’s Wine Country Designs, San Luis Obispo, CA. Varieties: Caramel Antike and Golden Mustard. Photographer: Ashley Ludaescher
Second place / Wedding Bouquet, Nancy Zimmerman, Fancy Florals by Nancy, Fairbury, IL. Varieties: Miranda and Keira. Photographer: Stephanie Wood Photography
Second place / Everyday Design, Jessie Partridge, Maidenhair, Ocean Springs, MS. Varieties: Romantic Antike, Caramel Antike and Princess Charlene of Monaco. Photographer: Jerrod Partridge
Third place / Wedding Bouquet, Kara Beane, Joyous Blooms, Yukon, OK. Variety: Miyabi. Photographer: Paige Keeton
Third place / Everyday Design, Meghan Maldonado, Flowers by Mae Mae, Chino Hills, CA. Variety: Romantic Antike. Photographer: Devon Donahue
Readers’ Choice / Wedding Bouquet, Gina Thresher, From the Ground Up Floral, Kent, WA. Variety: White Cloud. Photographer: Sara Anne Photography
Readers’ Choice / Everyday Design, Julie Mulligan, 1-800-Flowers.com, Belle Harbor, NY. Variety: Princess Hitomi. Photographer: Joe Scafuro
Winners, Commonwealth of Independent States
Judges for the Commonwealth of Independent States contest were Jose R. Azout, president of Alexandra Farms; David J.C. Austin, managing director of David Austin Roses; Araik Galstyan, general manager of the Araik Galstyan Moscow International Floral Design School; and Galina Kondratieva, deputy chief editor for floristry at Moscow-based Flowers Magazine (Цветы).
First place, Irina Snatenkova. Varieties: Mayra’s Rose, Princess Kishi, Mariatheresia, Mayra’s Bridal Pink, and Tess
Second place, Alexandra Kostryukova. Variety: Juliet. Photographer: Ameli Décor
Third place, Lilit Aghayan. Varieties: Cream Yves Piaget and Angie Romantica (not grown by Alexandra Farms)
In each contest and category, the first-place winner will be invited to join us in early 2020 for an all-expense-paid trip for two to our fragrance-filled greenhouses at Alexandra Farms, located high in the Andes mountains in the beautiful savannah of Bogotá, Colombia.
The remaining winners can choose from our garden rose varieties and place orders to receive them, free of charge and freight included, until their award is exhausted. Second-place and Readers’ Choice winners will receive 1000 stems; third-place winners will receive 500 stems.
About the Judging Process
As in 2018, we invited submissions in two categories: Wedding Bouquet and Everyday Design. This year, the contest also took place in two arenas, as two separate contests: a World contest and a second contest specifically organized for designers in the Commonwealth of Independent States, plus Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with a single category of design and with Russian as the common language.
We’d like to thank our judges, who faced a challenging task in evaluating so many entries showing a high level of skill and talent.
All designs were judged on the following criteria: how garden roses were used in the design; photo quality; and overall design aesthetic and composition. The judges received a photo of each design (with any identifying information removed) and assigned it a score. The scores were added up, and the three designs with the highest scores were awarded first, second and third place. Readers’ Choice Award winners were chosen by public online voting during the month of July.
Want to participate next year? Be on the lookout in spring 2020 for information on how to enter the contest. Look for the full stories on this year’s contest in the October 2019 issue of Florists’ Review and the September 2019 issue of Flowers Magazine.
Show Us Your Best Designs! Third Annual Alexandra Farms Garden Rose Design Contest Now Open
Alexandra Farms is excited to announce our third annual Garden Rose Design Contest! Floral designers from around the world are invited to share their best work using garden roses.
Full and fragrant, with ruffled petals and delicate to vibrant hues, fresh-cut garden roses are a favorite with designers everywhere. We know you are still designing during these challenging times. With this contest, we want to encourage the incredible creativity we have seen within our global community.
Unlike in previous years, this year we will accept all entries in one general category. Wedding work, everyday design and more. We want to see it all!
As in previous years, the prizes for this contest are fantastic! There will be three winners: first, second and third place. All winners will be chosen through a public online vote in July 2020.
The first-place winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Alexandra Farms, where they will visit our fragrant, rose-filled greenhouses and the Colombian city of Bogotá. The second-place winner will receive 500 stems of garden roses. The third-place winner will receive 250 stems of garden roses.
The contest officially opened on May 1, 2020. Entries will be accepted through June 28, 2020. Winners will be announced on our social media accounts in late September 2020 and in the October 2020 issues of Florists’ Review and FLOWERS Magazine in Russia.
Love Garden Roses? This Contest Is for You! Second Annual Garden Rose Design Contest Now Open
Alexandra Farms, the world’s largest grower of fresh cut garden roses, is excited to announce our second annual Garden Rose Design Contest!
Floral designers from around the world are invited to share their best work in two categories: Everyday Design and Wedding Bouquet. There will be four winners chosen in each category.
Full and fragrant, with ruffled petals and delicate to vibrant hues, garden roses are a favorite with floral designers everywhere. If you love designing with flowers like these, you won’t want to miss this opportunity. Visit our website for full details and to register for the contest.
We look forward to seeing your designs!
Last Year’s First Prize Winners
Prizes
The first place winners will be invited to visit our fragrant, garden rose-filled greenhouses and the Colombian city of Bogotá on an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Alexandra Farms, located high in the Andes Mountains (or monetary equivalent).
The second place winners in each category will receive 1,000 stems of garden roses (freight included).
Third place winners will receive 500 stems of garden roses (freight included).
Two Readers’ Choice Award winners will be determined by a public online vote. The winners of this award will each receive 1,000 stems of garden roses (freight included).
Judges
Contest judges are Jose R. Azout, president of Alexandra Farms; David J C Austin, managing director of David Austin Roses; Tomas De Bruyne, international floral designer and educator; and David Coake, editorial director of Florists’ Review.
Deadline for Submission
Entries will be accepted through June 30, 2019. Winners will be announced in the October 2019 issue of Florists’ Review.
2018 Garden Rose Design Contest Winners Announced
We are so excited to announce the winners of our Garden Rose Design Contest! We’d like to thank all of the participants. We received hundreds of entries and truly enjoyed seeing the creativity of their designs.
Our judges (Alexandra Farms President Joey Azout; David JC Austin of David Austin Roses; Hitomi Gilliam AIFD EMC; and David Coake and Lori McNorton from Florists’ Review) had the difficult task of evaluating the entries and choosing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. The Readers Choice awards were chosen by public vote during the month of July 2018.
First place / Wedding Bouquet: Rachel Stevenson First place / Everyday Design: Angela Hall (Prize: all-expense-paid trip for two to Alexandra Farms in Bogotá, Colombia)
Second place / Wedding Bouquet:Nancy ZimmermanSecond place / Everyday Design:Katherine Taylor(Prize: 1,000 stems of garden roses)
Third place / Wedding Bouquet: Tara Pollio Third place / Everyday Design: Eleni Mauromoustakos (Prize: 500 stems of garden roses)
Readers Choice / Wedding Bouquet: Nancy Zimmerman Readers Choice / Everyday Design: Brenna Quan (Prize: 1,000 stems of garden roses)
Again, a big thank you to all of the participants and especially to our finalists for making this contest a success. We look forward to seeing even more submissions in 2019!
