If you're like me and have just crawled out from beneath a large rock you probably won't be au fait with the whole "Greenest Person on the Planet" competition that's currently running via 3rdWhale.com. How I missed this, I'm not sure but the comp has now entered the final stage with 5 nominees vying for the winner's podium.

A little background: the competition is the brainchild of BelugaBoyd (aka Boyd Cohen) 3rdWhale's founder and resident spruiker for all things green. It started on Earth Day earlier this year in the quest to find the world's greenest person and will end September 16.

It's an intriguing contest - not to mention the bizarre prize (an entire Arctie pod of Beluga whales become adopted with the winner's name) - in that it aims to highlight the amazing efforts that some people go to in order to make our planet a little healthier. 600 hopefuls from around the world started the journey with the numbers now being whittled down to the remaining 5.

So, now it's up to you and I to vote for the Greenest Person on the Planet. Voting link here.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

Our competition to find the 'Quirkiest or Most Extraordinary Planter' has officially ended. And it is my sincerest pleasure to ....(drum roll, please)....open the email envelope and allow our judge, Peter Holt from Holties House announce the winner.

For several reasons my choice for a winner is Lisa;

1. Anyone who lists in their profile interests "composting" has to qualify as "quirky" just on that score alone. Remember, Peter's not a gardener....Ed.
2. I also liked her tenacity, two entries where most were not bothering to submit an entry at all.
3. Variety, from bedpans to boots and beyond, with a strong recycling theme throughout her entries.
4. And finally for outright quirkiness I think Lisa's entries fill the bill best.

I would very much like to add my congratulations to Stuart for organizing the contest, to Skin MD for their generous prize, to all the folk who entered and of course to Lisa for her winning entries.

Back to me - I want to add to Peter's appreciation and thank him for being our judge. The pressure we mounted him under was terrific and he came through unfazed. Thanks again.

Also, to Pete Grimaldi from Skin MD for his generous donation - I would like to thank you personally. Much appreciated.

Our next competition

Always looking forward, I'm keen to run other competitions on my blog and encourage some more gardening participation. If you have any ideas for what might make an exciting competition then I would love to hear your thoughts.

Would you rather take pictures or write posts? Do you prefer exposing others or do you like getting a little love sent your way instead? It would be great to hear.

Also, if there are other sponsors who would like to donate their wares and get a little exposure in the meantime then feel free to email me.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

Our competition to find the 'Quirkiest or Most Extraordinary Planter' has finally come to an end. So now, it's time to hand it over to our judge - Peter Holt from Holties House - to do the honours and pick a winner.

But, before we do lets take a brief recap of our entrants submissions;

• Lisa from Millertime presented us with these quirky planters consisting of a chair, plastic thermos, a Weber lid and some old boots.
• Then, Rosalie Larson submitted her little wagon and watering can planters.
• Jonathan showed off his upside-down terracotta pot
• Lisa followed up with two more entries. Here is a planted bedpan and washing machine tumbler.
• And finally, Paul Sayer from Tasmania submitted his succulent boots and homemade planter.

Hopefully Peter's being deliberating as the entries have come in so I should be able to announce the winner tomorrow. Stay tuned...

The Prize

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tomorrow is the last day if you're wanting to get your entries into our Quirkiest Planter competition so make sure you're snapping your heart out over the next 24 hours.

This week we have one more entrant as Paul Sayer from Tasmania shares his offerings. Paul has submitted his succulent boots and a homemade planter that mimics a bird bath. Kudos Paul, and great to see another Australian getting in on the act.

On Monday, I will produce a list of all the entrants (if your struggling to remember who has submitted one) but there is still time if you want to add your chance of taking home our great prize. All the details are here and you have until 12:00pm midnight (West Australian time) on Saturday 30 June, 2007 to enter.

The Prize

About The Prize

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

We're in our final week of this competition with entries closing next Saturday. So don't be too slow in getting those photos in.

You can include photos that have already been published provided you create a new post for them (for bloggers). The rest of the guidelines remain and the competition will end on Saturday 30 June, 2007.

Jonathan Strutt, a friend of mine here in Busselton, has submitted this upside-down terracotta planter. It makes you take a second look as it messes with your sense of direction but quite quirky just the same.

Qualifies as an unorthodox planter I think?

Our judge, Peter, has also sent in a photo (although not for judging) just to add some inspiration for those scrounging for a good photo opportunity.

This isn't so much quirky as pretty...the planters were in a repeating pattern along about 20 meters of fence.

Cheers Jonathan and Peter. Remember, we only have 1 week to go so don't miss out...

The Prize

About The Prize

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

We finally have another gardener who has submitted some "Quirky Planters" for our competition and some bloggers who have suggested they're getting their entries together. If you are still wanting to participate you do have time as entries won't close until the end of the month.

You can include photos that have already been published provided you create a new post for them (for bloggers). The rest of the guidelines remain and the competition will end on Saturday 30 June, 2007.

Here are Rosalie Larson's submitted entries.

The old wagon, I got at auction and had to pay dearly for as I was bidding against a bunch of adults who had played with it as kids. They acutally wore the wheels off of it and then replaced them with wheels from a baby buggy, which remain on the wagon today.

The second picture is some of the old water cans from my collection. Seems an odd twist to be putting water into the cans instead of pouring water out. LOL

Thanks for your submissions Rosalie. Lisa is the only other entrant thus far and you can see her submissions over here...

The Prize

About The Prize

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

It seems that finding the Quirkiest Planter is a much harder task than I first anticipated. And, as Lisa suggested, most gardeners - especially in the northern hemisphere - are too busy in their gardens to enjoy participating in a competition.

So, after much deliberation, and agreement by our sponsor and judge, it has been decided to not only extend the time frame for the whole month of June but also widen the scope of what we're looking for. Obviously, the 'Quirkiest Planter' is still desirable but we're also happy to include the 'Most Extraordinary' container plants as well.

Maybe you're trying out an upside-down tomato planter, or your strawberry tower is full to overflowing. You might have created a container of bulbs that are blooming their heads off or your annual posse is magnificent to say the least.

You can include photos that have already been published provided you create a new post for them (for bloggers). The rest of the guidelines remain and the competition will end on Saturday 30 June, 2007.

BTW - I will send Lisa a $20 Amazon voucher for being the only person to have produced the correct photos in time. Well done Lisa.

The Prize

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm guessing you're all getting your submissions extra precise and taking the time to make sure your entry is going to be a shoo-in. Why? Because I haven't heard from anyone to confirm their participation.

With only 4 days left of the Quirkiest Planter competition it would be great to have some entries for Peter to judge. So, if you've been holding back, get your entry together fast and make your planter famous.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

Everybody's seen them. Maybe you have one. Or, maybe the eccentric neighbour has decorated their porch in them. Wherever they are, they could land you a worthy prize just for exposing them.

I'm looking for the quirkiest planter. You know what I mean... the painted boot, the in-turned mosaic tyre or the rusty wheelbarrow with the flowering annuals.

The Judge

With any competition worth its 'salt' it must have an objective judge. Fortunately Marcus, a good friend of mine, has a blogging father who picked up a nomination in the recent Bloggies (no small feat). Peter Holt is Holties House, a blog of random and quirky trivia, anecdotes and the odd frivolous thought and comedic rant. I met Peter last summer when he visited Busselton and after subscribing to the 'House' have kept up with all the going's on.

Fortunately for us, Peter (like his son) is not a gardener - but he does know quirky when he sees it. So his choice of the overall winner will be completely objective - we hope!!

The Prize

How to Enter

Once it's 'live' on your blog, send me an email and I shall add you to the daily links or, at the very least, the final compilation before judging.

For non-bloggers: Send me an email with the photograph added as an attachment. Include in your email the story of how you came about the picture and this will be added with the daily updates.

The competition will run for 1 week and end on Thursday 7 June, 2007 with the winner being published on the Friday.

General Guidelines

• The photograph must be an original taken by you.
• Entries after Thursday 7 June will not be accepted.
• There is only one prize to be given and this will be decided by our judge and his decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

The competition starts now. So get those camera's snapping...

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

It's that time again.

That's right, it's your chance to pick up a great prize thanks to a very generous sponsor. We'll start it off on Friday June 1 (Western Australian time) and explain all the details of what's involved then.

But I will give you one clue - it does involve taking photos, so get the lens cap off and dust the glass this is going to be a lot of fun...

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's finally official...

After nearly two months of anticipation the Inaugural Mouse & Trowel Awards have been decided. And the big winners were GardenRant and Digging both scooping three awards each with GardenRant taking the coveted Garden Blog of the Year. Congratulations to the Ranters and Pam - you deserve your accolades.

Equally deserving, Yolanda Elizabet's Bliss took out the award for Best International Garden Blog. This is a great one for the feed reader as Yolanda shares some wonderful pics of her garden and even some of the projects she has undertaken. And all this coming from Dinteloord in the Netherlands.

But certainly the most praise should go to Colleen from In the Garden Online for running such a great competition. I'm looking forward to seeing who will appear next year and hopefully Colleen with continue with it again. Big, big Kudos!!

To all those faithful readers who voted for Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas - a quick hat tip to you. I was amazed that this blog even made the nominations so I'm truly honoured. Thanks again.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

The nominations are in and voting lines are now open for the Inaugural Mouse & Trowel Gardening Awards.

I was a little shocked to see Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas feature for not only one, but two categories;

• Most Innovative Blog; and


• Best International Blog

especially amidst such a strong field of contenders. Congrats to Pam from Digging for her whopping 6 nominations and the GardenRant team for their 4.

You have until Friday May 11 to get your votes in and Colleen is allowing you to vote each day so take advantage of your voting voice.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (9)

Congratulations to Andrea from Buy Organic who was the first to guess that our garden was of course the Mahallat Spring Garden in Tehran commonly known as Sarchesmeh.

In a bizarre twist we actually had two readers with the correct answer yet one was already added to my Email Whitelister while the other hadn't been yet. So, because it was so close I've decided to award Colleen from In the Garden Online with a $20 Amazon voucher as well.

A few people have told me that they have been watching the competition for the whole time and enjoyed it but for my own humouring (and knowing whether it's worth running another one somewhere down the track) can you please make a quick note in my comments to tell me that you were keeping tabs of the competition.

Thanks to all those who did have a go. I hope it wasn't too hard and you found that ripping all your hair out didn't became a viable option.

Here's the garden...

If you click the picture it will take you to the site where I sourced the image. I couldn't acknowledge the article during the competition as someone would have picked it up immediately.

This isn't a garden that I've been to but from the look of it I certainly think I would enjoy seeing it. If you have been there and can shed some more light on its history let us know some info.

Thanks again for playing and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. To our two winners Andrea and Colleen - check your inbox.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

Here's Day 8's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

We're into our second week now and more than half of the photo is exposed. Via my stats I can see that a few people are tracing each day's postings but not many are having a guess so let me remind you that you can make one guess per day. The first one to guess correctly picks up the prize so don't hold back.

I'll start adding some clues this week as well to help you out as it is a fairly obscure garden although world-renowned.

Today's Clue:
This garden is commonly referred to as the 'Spring' garden.

Previous Clues:

• It's not an Australian garden.


• It isn't a garden that's found in the southern hemisphere.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here's Day 7's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

We're into our second week now and more than half of the photo is exposed. Via my stats I can see that a few people are tracing each day's postings but not many are having a guess so let me remind you that you can make one guess per day. The first one to guess correctly picks up the prize so don't hold back.

I'll start adding some clues this week as well to help you out as it is a fairly obscure garden although world-renowned.

Today's Clue:
I have already mentioned that it's not an Australian garden. So my next clue for today is that it isn't a garden that's found in the southern hemisphere. Hope this helps.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's Day 6's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

Here are some of the guesses that readers have made already - (unfortunately none of them are correct!!)

Nelumbo - Melbourne's Royal Botanical Garden
Ashlee Walker - Hidcote Manor Garden
Old Roses - Monet's garden at Giverny

So it's still open for anyone to have a go.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

Here's Day 5's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here's Day 4's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's Day 3's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's Day 2's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's Day 1's picture. Any guesses?

What Is This?

Over the next two weeks a picture of a famous garden will be revealed, piece by piece. If you think you know the name of the garden, take a guess in the comments section and the first correct answer will win a $50 Amazon gift voucher just in time for Christmas.

Go ahead...take a guess!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)