The PEC Master Gardeners gathered at Vicki’s Veggies on Saturday to celebrate young gardeners in The County.

The Children’s Garden Award, now in its third year, was started by Barbra Stock in 2018 to get children outdoors and learning about gardening. The junior greenthumbs must do the work themselves and keep a notebook of their activities and observations in their garden. Some children started their own seeds in March and many of them purchased seedlings from Vicki’s Veggies. Master Gardeners visit the gardens twice during the season and talk to the kids about what they grew and what jobs they did, such as weeding, watering. We were amazed at the horticultural knowledge of these kids – some as young as seven.

The kids were invited to bring their families to celebrate with them and Vicki Emlaw started our day off by giving the kids a tour of her gardens and a taste of fresh herbs. This year we had so many entries, we divided it up into Senior (10-12 year olds) and Junior (6-9 year olds).

In the Junior division, Third Prize was awarded to Eve Maggiacomo, Second Prize went to Abbigail Wemyss and First Prize to Simon and Oliver Hill. One last award remained to be announced – the Overall Winner. There were so many incredible gardens maintained by these young gardeners, it was a very difficult decision. In the end, it came down to who had the best notebook. The winners made detailed notes, beginning with a drawing of their plan for the garden. They included recording when they weeded, watered and the condition of their plants, their notebooks were tidy and well written.

The Grand Prize went to Simon and Oliver Hill (Pictured). Just as we could not choose one garden over another with the twin girls, Elise and Maya Burkinshaw in the Senior division. Simon and Oliver’s gardens were also equally impressive and we gave the top prize to both of them.

-Submitted by Ren Duinker Coordinator, Prince Edward County Master Gardeners