[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Leading gardening media personality Jane Edmanson OAM was honoured by her peers with the Gold Laurel and ‘Hall of Fame’ Award at Tuesday night’s Horticultural Media Association Australia(HMAA) Laurel Awards Dinner in Melbourne.
The Gold Laurel, awarded to an HMAA member who has made a sustained and significant contribution to communicating the joys and benefits of gardening to the general public over a significant period of time, is the highest accolade the association bestows in its biennial awards program.
Jane, whose involvement in bringing gardening to the public began in the late 1980s on ABC TV’s ‘Sow What’, was both humbled and delighted to be recognised with this award. Today, Jane is the only original presenter still on ABC’s ‘Gardening Australia’ and she is also heard every Saturday and Sunday on 3AW’s ‘Big Backyard’ with Darren James.
In a first for the HMAA, the Anita Boucher Outstanding Achievement Laurel for professionalism and talent in raising the standards of horticultural journalism was awarded jointly to WA’s John Colwill and NSW’s Catherine Stewart.
The 2016 Laurel Awards recognised excellence in eight areas of horticultural / gardening media. All entrants were required to be HMAA members and judging was undertaken by panels of communications and horticultural experts with no affiliations to the HMAA.
The categories and winners are:[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Book Laurel
Phillip Johnson – “Connected – The Sustainable Landscapes Of Phillip Johnson”
Judges’ comment: ‘Phillip Johnson’s Connected: the sustainable landscapes of Philip Johnson is an inspiring book that suggests we think differently about gardens and their construction and care, by skilfully integrating plants and water.’
Finalists: “Garlic” by Penny Woodward and “Garden Pests, Diseases and Good Bugs” by Denis Crawford.
Article Laurel
AB Bishop – “Sister Act”
Judges’ comment: ‘AB Bishop skilfully employs an impressive conceptual approach in Sister Act to explore the gardens and relationships between three sisters, influenced by their grandmother, aunt and mother’s garden making.’
Finalists: Phil Dudman’s “Ginger Binge” and Penny Woodward’s “The People’s Garden”
Image Laurel
Denis Crawford – “Mantis-Fly”
Judges’ comment: ‘Denis Crawford’s Mantis-fly image has superb resolution of detail revealing a technical mastery of close-up nature photography. The result is a crystal clear depiction of the Mantis-fly that brings the insect to life.’
Finalists: Kim Woods Rabbidge – “The Autumn Walk” and Penny Woodward – “Not the Usual Suspects”
Video Laurel
Angus Stewart – “A Drop Of The Good Stuff”
Judges’ comment: ‘Gardening Australia’s Angus Stewart presents A drop of the good stuff , an engaging video revealing commercial cut-flower growers using a revolutionary small-scale system of worm farming to feed their flowers.’
Finalists: Sophie Thomson – “Healing with Horticulture” and Kim Woods Rabbidge – “Prittlewell”
Audio Laurel
Tim Entwisle & Jim Fogarty – “Talking Plants”
Judges’ comment: ‘Tim Entwistle’s and Jim Fogarty’s Talking Plants program skilfully blends specialised technical content with an engaging whimsy that appeals to both a professional and a general audience. It is easy to listen to and well-produced.’
Finalists: Marianne Cannon – “Real World Gardener” and Donna Ellis – “Creating a garden from nothing”
Magazine Laurel
Steve Payne (Editor) – “Organic Gardener”
Judges’ comment: ‘Organic Gardener magazine has a contemporary style and accessible content with a great balance between text and images. Editor Steve Payne oversees a valuable publication with engaging content for 21st century gardeners.’
Finalists: Louise McDaid – “Your Garden” and Jenny Baldwin “Gardening Australia”
Website Laurel
Steve Falcioni (Webmaster) – “Ecoorganicgarden.Com.Au”
Judges’ comment: ‘Steve Falcioni’s ecoorganicgarden.com.au, while presenting a range of organic garden products for sale, provides an impressive body of accurate gardening information including growing tips and a problem solver.’
Finalists: Steve Payne – “organicgardener.com.au” and Penny Woodward – “australiangarlic.net.au”
Social Media Laurel
Angie Thomas (Manager) – “Yates Gardening Facebook Page”
Judges’ comment: ‘Angie Thomas manages Yates Gardening Facebook presence which is consistently engaging across all areas of horticulture. She has succeeded in growing an enthusiastic community of many thousands of followers.’
Finalists: Linda Ross – “The Garden Clinic Facebook Page” and Matthew Carroll – “Hortiman Facebook Page”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
