Applications are closed for 2025.
Whether you are ready to apply this year or not, thank you for creating thriving, biodiverse gardens!
✅ Are You Ready?
Use this quick checklist to see if your front yard garden is a good fit for the 2025 Monarch Awards. Simply answer Yes or No to each question to find out if you’re ready to apply.
- Do you rent or own a home within the municipality of Hamilton, Ontario?
- Do you have a front yard garden? The Monarch Awards Team will only be visiting front yard gardens in 2025.
- Do you maintain the front yard garden yourself?
- Do you have a variety of native plants in your front yard?
- Do you use organic and natural gardening methods, and avoid use of pesticides and/or herbicides in your front yard?
- Do you leave organic material like fallen leaves, stems, sticks etc. as a layer on your soil?
- Do you leave plant stems in place for over-wintering insects?
- Are you willing to have the Monarch Awards Team come visit your front yard garden? A time will be scheduled, but you do not have to be present.
How did you do?
- If you answered no to some or most of the questions, that’s okay! Four levels of achievement are recognized: Getting Started, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Monarch.
- The Monarch Awards Team will be looking for achievement in the twelve categories of Eco-Friendly Gardening Practices.
- Whether you are Getting Started, or your garden is well on its way to being a Monarch, we encourage you to apply!
- If you don’t feel ready to apply this year, use the Eco-friendly Gardening Practices and our Monarch Award Resources as a guide to help you add native plants, or switch to more natural care methods . We encourage you to keep working on your garden and apply next year!
🦋 Application Process
The online application asks some short questions about your front yard plants and gardening practices to help us get to know your garden better.
It should take about 20 minutes to complete .
Important: if selected for a visit, you’ll need to give permission for the Monarch Awards Team to visit your front yard for the on-site evaluation, and to take photographs of the garden.
Award recipients, and the level of award will be chosen based on the Monarch Awards Team’s evaluation of your garden’s achievement relative to Eco-Friendly Gardening Practices.
Applications are closed for 2025.
About the Assessment Levels
The Monarch Awards have four levels: Good Start, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, and Monarch. Each level recognizes different stages of progress toward creating an ecological garden.
Click on each heading below to expand and read the description for that level.
As Lorraine Johnson so eloquently says, “We garden to participate in the planet, and through this, change the world and be changed by it.” Whether you’re planting a single native flower or transforming a whole landscape, your garden becomes part of something greater—a living ecosystem that supports biodiversity while nurturing your connection with nature. Each season brings new growth and learning, making the journey as meaningful as the destination. (Quote: Broadview Magazine)
1. Good Start:
This level recognizes gardens that are beginning their journey toward supporting biodiversity. Non-native plants may still make up most of the planting, but steps are being taken to add native species and provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. Gardeners at this stage are experimenting, learning, and showing interest in ecological practices. It’s a foundation to celebrate—and an invitation to continue adding keystone plants, extending bloom through the seasons, and learning more about native plants suited to site conditions.
2. Caterpillar Level:
At this stage, the garden is making clear progress toward supporting biodiversity. A growing number of native plants are included—sometimes with a few keystone species—and blooms may be present in more than one season. Gardeners at this level are becoming more familiar with native species, often starting to recognize invasive plants and planning to replace them. While mid-season flowers may still dominate and native trees or shrubs may be fewer, these gardens show genuine commitment and are taking meaningful steps toward creating healthier habitat.
3. Chrysalis Level:
Gardens at the Chrysalis level are well on their way to becoming rich habitats for biodiversity. Native plants make up most of the garden, with noticeable diversity in types such as wildflowers, grasses, sedges, ferns, and shrubs. Keystone species are present, and gardeners show a deeper understanding of how to choose plants that suit their site conditions and support pollinators throughout the seasons. Ecological practices, such as leaving leaves or adding compost, may also be part of the care routine. These gardens reflect thoughtful design and a growing sophistication in ecological gardening.
4. Monarch Award:
The Monarch level celebrates gardens that are intentionally designed and maintained to fully support biodiversity. Native plants dominate and are arranged in layered communities of trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers that provide food and shelter for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife across all seasons. Keystone plants are abundant, and thoughtful features such as pathways, sitting areas, or water sources for wildlife may also be part of the design. These gardens reflect advanced ecological gardening practices and serve as inspiring models of how people and nature can flourish together.
What Happens After You Apply
Once we receive your application, the Monarch Awards Team will review your application to decide if your garden is ready for a site visit.
Selected gardens will get an email indicating that the Monarch Awards Team’s will visit between July 15th and Sept. 1st 2025. Gardens that are not selected will also get an email.
Garden visits will start in July.
The Monarch Awards Team may visit when you’re not home. They only need access to the front yard.
During their visit, the Monarch Awards Team will take notes️ and decide which achievement level best matches your garden. You’ll find out the results in September.
Check out the Resources for Monarch Award Applicants
About the Monarch Awards Team
Our Monarch Awards Team are volunteer community members with expertise and a passion for eco-friendly gardening. They love visiting gardens, offering feedback, and encouraging all the great work that local gardeners are doing to support healthy ecosystems 🌎.
Thank You for Applying!
We truly appreciate the time and effort you put into growing gardens that support biodiversity. Every garden helps build a healthier community, and we celebrate everything you’re doing!
2025 Key Dates
June 1 🟢 Applications Open
June 30 🛑 Applications Close
July 15 🌻 Garden Visits Begin
September 1 ⌛ Garden Visits End
September 20🏆 Monarch Awards Recipients Announced
October 15 ✨ Wrap-up Celebration for the 2025 Monarch Awards
Halton region Master Gardeners 