2026
Landscape Ohio! AWARDS
Landscape Awards Program P RO JECT E L I G I B I L I T Y – SUBM I S S I ON CATEGOR I ES – GUI DELINES
9240 Broadview Road Broadview Heights, OH 44147 Phone: 440-717-0002 Toll Free: 1-800-335-6521 Email: info@ohiolandscapers.org OhioLandscapers.org
Deadline to Enter: February 27th at 5:00 pm. LATE ENTRIES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
2026
Landscape Ohio! AWARDS
The Ohio Landscape Association invites you to join us in celebrating outstanding residential and commercial projects in Ohio at our 2026 Landscape Awards program. You will be recognized for the remarkable work being done in the design, construction, and maintenance of your projects by your peers in the landscape community. The Landscape Ohio Awards is a great way to have your company’s name recognized, to network with peers and colleagues from other companies, and to celebrate our industry successes together. There’s something for all members to be recognized no matter what the budget. Projects begin at $25K and go up to $1M or more.
PROJECT ELIGIBILITY: •
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OLA Regular Membership is required to enter, and the project must be installed in Ohio by an OLA member. Projects are eligible for up to five years after completion. Submitting company needs to be involved in the overall design, creation, and implementation of the project. Previous OLA award-winning projects may not be resubmitted for another award. Projects that have won awards outside of OLA can be submitted. Companies are encouraged to re-enter projects if they didn’t win an OLA award. An entry form and payment must accompany each entry. Cost of each entry is $125. The same project can be entered into a maximum of two categories, as long as separate entries are purchased and separate information submitted for each project. Limit of ten entries per company, per year. A Maintenance Category entry must have been maintained and under the care of the company for one full growing season prior to entry. Each award winner will receive certificates for the project crew leaders and designers. A panel of landscape professionals will judge the entries on design, workmanship, and proper horticultural practices. Each project is evaluated on individual merit, regardless of size or cost. The judges will not know the company’s name, and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony. The judges will award Honor and Merit Awards, and some categories may not receive awards. All material submitted, including images and text become the property of the Ohio Landscape Association and may be used for promotional purposes. Entrants grant permission for the OLA to use images for program promotion of the OLA and Awards Event. The company submitting the entry must sign each entry form which indicates that OLA has permission to publish the project photographs, and that the information provided with each submission is complete and true.
HOW TO ENTER:
PROJECT CATEGORIES:
Entry Form
All project amounts must include materials and labor.
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1. Residential Maintenance: Properties must be maintained by you for one year or more. 2. Commercial Maintenance: Properties must be maintained by you for one year or more. • Office, Hotels, Condominiums, Multi-Unit Properties, Retail, HOA’s etc. 3. Residential Landscape Implementation: Focus is on installation of All components of the landscape with the primary interest on plant material. • Under $30,000 • $30,000 - $74,999 • $75,000 - $125,000 • Over $125,000 4. Residential Swimming Pools 5. Commercial Landscape Implementation: Focuses on both commercial design and installation. • Under $100,000 • $100,000 - $500,000 • Over $500,000 6. Water Features: Includes gazebos, ponds, bubbling rocks, waterfalls and fountains, etc. 7. Landscape Lighting 8. Specialty Gardens: Includes rock, butterfly, Japanese, container healing and sustainable gardens. 9. Hardscape Installation: Includes outdoor structures & pavements. • Under $50,000 • $50,000 - $99,999 • $100,000 - $299,999 • $300,000 - $450,000 • Above $450,000 10. Best Use of Color: Includes perennials and seasonal color, which can include holiday lighting.
Email a completed PDF entry form for each project to PattyOhioLandscapers.org or drop off a printed entry to the OLA office. In the description include the project’s complexity, what you were hired to do, and any challenges you faced. For maintenance projects state which areas, you did, and did not maintain. Each entry must include a one-page MS Word description of the project (500 word maximum). If entering the same project in two different categories, a separate entry form, set of photos, and entry fee must be submitted.
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Photos • •
Photos should be submitted via Dropbox. Images should be JPEG format and no less than 300 dpi. High resolution images will be used in our publications. Alteration of photos will lead to disqualification. Do not compress files, crop photos, adjust colors or brightness, or manipulate photos with software in any way. A maximum of ten and a minimum of five photos can be submitted for a project. At least one horizontal picture needs to be submitted, which will be used on the award if a project wins.
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Payment •
Payment can be made via credit card after signing into your membership portal or via check, payable to the Ohio Landscape Association.
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Each entry should be sent in a separate email with your company name, category, and retail value of the project listed in the email. Pictures are sent via Dropbox. If dropping off entries, one entry per envelope with the same information written on each envelope.
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Do not include your company name in the description. No company name or logo can appear in any photos, including company trucks or employees. If a project is disqualified, entry fee(s) will not be returned.
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J U DGI NG CR I TER I A • • • •
Overall appearance of the project and attention to detail. Attention to edging, weeding, details and seasonal color. Aesthetic and functional use of plants, proper trimming, and design. Plant selection, use of form, texture, color and design with other plants.
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Aesthetic and functional use of hardscape elements and design. Choice of overall materials, installation quality, detailing, degree of difficulty, unique features and design.
HE L P FUL HI NTS & TI PS The judges determine the quality of materials (both plant and hardscape), complexity, completeness of installation, workmanship, and horticultural correctness in the project using only the photographs and written description submitted with each entry. Remember, first impressions count for judges and for future clients.
PHOTOGRAPHY:
SITE PREPARATION:
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Photos submitted should be ones that you would show your best clients.
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Remove distracting objects before photos are taken.
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Take photos from a variety of angles and points of interest.
Hoses lying across walkways, stray tools, litter have no place in a successful photo entry.
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Include close-up photos of the beds, edges, shrubs, etc. that show your construction or maintenance skills.
Include before, during, and after photos of your work as it helps the judges to see your whole project.
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Elevated/overhead shots taken from a normal vantage point (i.e. deck, upstairs window, drone) can be helpful.
Plant material should be properly selected and well adapted to the site.
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Sweep up mulch that has spilled onto hard surfaces.
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Photos are best taken during early morning or later in the day, or with an overcast sky.
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Make sure plant material is well-pruned and free of insects or disease. Remove all tags and flagging.
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Submit photos taken during the summer or early fall.
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Remove all weeds from shrub beds.
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Lawns should be green; if some photos are taken in the autumn season, the trees and shrubs should still have some leaves.
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Help projects have a lived-in look by taking the cover off the grill, opening the patio umbrella, adding seat cushions, drinking glasses and decorative items.
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Night shots are helpful when judging lighting, however, no more than 2-3 photos are necessary.
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If you enter a project in more than one category, write a new description that matches the details for that category.
9240 Broadview Road Broadview Heights, OH 44147 Phone: 440-717-0002 Toll Free: 1-800-335-6521 Email: info@ohiolandscapers.org OhioLandscapers.org
Deadline to Enter: February 27th at 5:00 pm. LATE ENTRIES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.