Finale Results for the 2006 Contest

The Washington Park Conservancy is pleased to announce a Floriade to be held in Washington Park during 2006, the bicentennial year of Washington Park.

Floriade is Dutch for Flower Festival. We are celebrating Washington Park’s glorious summer flower plantings by holding an invitational gardening event. Following Albany’s Tulip Festival, the Floriade will create long-lasting displays of ornamental plantings on the site of the original Willett Street tropical gardens in Washington Park. Participants, both amateur and professional gardeners, are invited to submit a concept design for a typical flower bed that they will plant in the spring and maintain throughout the summer of 2006.

Submissions will be judged for overall aesthetic content and the ability of the applicant to execute it.  Flower beds will be assigned once the number of participants in known. Amateur gardeners can receive reimbursement for planting materials up to a maximum of $150. In Mid-August, the flower bed displays will be judged, and ribbon awards will be made.

New planting beds have been created in Washington Park on either side of Lancaster Street near Willett Street. Entrants must select their preferred beds, indicating first and second choices. While the Washington Park Conservancy will strive to accommodate first choices when making bed assignments, specific bed assignments cannot be guaranteed.

Once selected, participants will be assigned their flower bed. Plantings can be installed starting May 26th and must be completed by June 11th. Applicants must maintain the appearance of their flower bed, including watering.

Eligibility: The Floriade is open to all. Any individual, group, garden club, artist, amateur, professional or seasoned horticulturist is encouraged to submit an entry.

Entry Requirements: Each entrant must submit a completed application (including a detailed plan) to the Washington Park Conservancy, P.O. Box 1145, Albany, NY 12207. The entrant must describe in writing the overall concept of the garden, and have a list of intended flowers and plants, as well as a drawing of the intended layout. Each entrant must also submit an application fee of $10, payable to Washington Park Conservancy.

Flower beds: There are a variety of planting beds and locations. Approximate bed sizes and shapes are: 4 feet by 20 feet (rectangular or arched to follow path) and 10 feet diameter circular beds. Please visit the Floriade Site to view the new beds.

Selection: The Floriade committee of the Washington Park Conservancy will consider the entries and select those that best meet the following criteria:

• Overall concept supporting the theme “Celebration of Flowers”

• Originality, creativity and style

• Scale and effect

• Applicant’s ability to execute the plantings and maintain them throughout the summer

An Application Form is available by sending a letter of interest to:

Washington Park Conservancy, P.O. Box 1145, Albany, NY 12207

Or “Contact” at www.washingtonparkconservancy.com

Click here for a  look at the .PDF of the location of the new Floriade gardens it is a very big file, 5mb, so it will take a while to download

Times Union Floriade announcement 8-4-05

The Argus  June 22, 1891 article about Washington Park Park Gardens

The American Florist article about Willett Street Gardens, 1903

or click on contacts at the link below

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