Ninety members, colleagues and special guests gathered for the 2026 HMAA Laurels Awards and Annual Dinner. The awards were presented at a glittering dinner at The Pavilion at Carrick Hill Estate in Adelaide. Congratulations to all those who entered with special acknowledgement to the runners up and overall winners. This year there were six Laurels and two honour Laurels – the Anita Boucher Award and the Hall of Fame Gold Laurel.
Thank you
Special thanks to The Laurels Committee of Dianne Hall, Judy Horton, Annette Irish, Trevor Nottle and Kate Wall, who organised the event, which was MC’d by Michael Keelan. He paid tribute to the hard work of Dianne Hall for her highly successful efforts in seeking sponsorship for the awards. Judy Horton also thanked the judges for their hard work.
Thank you to all our sponsors who made the Awards possible: Neutrog Biological Fertilisers (Major Sponsor), Felco, HMA SA, Ironwood Institute, Jeffries, Nursery & Garden Industry SA, Open Gardens SA, WPP Wholes Sale Plants & Products, and Your Garden.
And the 2026 winners are…
| Name of Laurel | Name of entry | Winner |
| HMAA Published Article Laurel | Cottage Blossoms at Blackwood | Merilyn Kuchel |
| HMAA Video Laurel, | Short form video collection | Phil Dudman |
| HMAA Social Media Laurel | Connie and Luna | Connie Cao |
| HMAA Digital Technology & Innovation Laurel | ABC Gardening: Australian Planting Guide | AB Bishop |
| HMAA Audio Laurel | Vanilla Orchid; Garden Clinic Radio | Graham Ross |
| HMAA Book Laurel | Your Asian Veggie Patch | Connie Cao |
And the Honour Laurels went to…
Hall of Fame Gold Laurel – Attila Kapitany
Anita Boucher Award – Connie Cao
See the presentation
To follow this year’s award, including the runners up and sponsors, click HERE to view the PDF.
To see more of the History of The Laurels
