Great Yard Contest (expired)

To promote quality landscaping within Pembroke Pines, the City is sponsoring a Great Yards Award contest. Interested homeowners may enter their properties for award consideration. Landscaping can be defined as the physical improvement of a piece of property. Well-Landscaped properties increase values and provide pleasant surroundings. These are important factors to consider in today’s society.

Landscaping adds attractiveness and a sense of aesthetics to a home, and improves both its appearance in, and the look of the community. When the neighborhood as a whole begins to think of landscaping, a certain pride emerges, as each creates and plans for individuality. Homes architecturally similar to each other can be highly individualized by the way they are landscaped.

Other advantages of improving the landscaping are the fact that plants add oxygen to the atmosphere; help reduce air and visual pollution and control soil erosion. In addition to plants, mulches help hold water and return moisture into the subsoil, recharging the water tables, which is especially important during periods of drought. For the single-family homeowner manual labor needed for landscape development and maintenance provides healthy exercise and relaxation; many people find that gardening provides a release from everyday tensions and offers a creative and satisfying from recreation.

The contest will consist of 4 sections, listed below. Each section will be worth 25 points. These areas will be added together to reach the final score for the property. The highest score winning first place and descending from there. All entries must attain a minimum score of 70 to be eligible for an award. Judging will be performed by the landscape advisory board, and their decision shall be final. Awards will be presented at a City Commission Meeting by the Mayor and City Commission.

The four scoring areas for each property are:

• Design and function: This area judges the overall design, use of texture, compatibility of materials, continuity, balance, and the overall function of the landscape in correlation to the use of the property.

• Maintenance: The focus on this section will be the overall view of the property’s landscape maintenance. The judges will be looking to see that the turf areas are mowed. They will also see that the planter beds are kept weed free, edged, and that mulching and fertilization is kept up.

• Xeriscape Value: This section judges the selection and use of plants that have similar water demands. Mulching techniques will also be observed, checking to see if the mulch is deep enough to retain moisture in the soils.

• Use of Hardscapes: This section judges the use of non living additions to finish a landscape, such as fountains, ponds, statues, boulders, decks, mulch, stones, etc. The judging will be determined by to implementation of these items into the landscape and how they fit into the overall property.