Cedar Rapids’ Noelridge Park gardens honored for winning entry in landscape design contest

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Noelridge Park gardens were recently honored with a landscape design award for its winning entry in a nationwide contest.

The gardens received distinction as the Category II first-place winner of the 2023 All-America Selections Landscape Design Contest in October with the city’s entry, Shoe-Bee-Dew! A Whimsical Garden Walk at Noelridge Park. Founded in 1932, All-America Selections is a nonprofit organization that works to test new plants for home gardening.

The 2023 challenge theme was A Whimsical Garden, according to a news release, inspiring the participating display gardens to use their AAS-winning flowers and plants in and around a theme. AAS provided the participating gardens with recent AAS winner seeds and plants. Each garden had to create and execute a design, generate publicity surrounding the contest and hold events. Participants then had to submit photos of the gardens, proof of publicity and an overall description of their design.

Noelridge Greenhouse staff and Friends of Noelridge volunteers designed and produced the winning entry for Category II, which includes gardens with 10,001 to 100,000 visitors per year).

The Noelridge Park entry was inspired by a desire to include the public in every step along the way, according to the release. The park asked the public to donate used shoes, which were then planted with AAS Winners and other plants selected based on their appearance or name. Through a meandering path created in the garden, visitors could get close enough to see special surprises tucked away, read plant tags and identify which local celebrity’s shoes were on display.

This display was available this summer and the public was invited to walk through the gardens to enjoy the flowers and vegetables on display in the planted shoes.

For example, the Noelridge team planted firefighter boots with Red Ember Cayenne Pepper and winter boots with Icicle Eggplant. Local pop star singer/songwriter Alisabeth von Presley’s sparkly pink sandals were potted with sweetie pie pepper and surrounded by Kelos Candela Pink Celosia and a ring of Main Street Beale Street Coleus — a nod to her Memphis, Tennessee ties.

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The team also planted tall Concert Bell sunflowers through clown shoes. Hawkeye football shoes were surrounded by Gold Rush Gloriosa Daisy and Big Duck Gold Marigold flowers — incorporating the team colors, black and gold.

“We are so very proud of our talented full-time and seasonal staff at Noelridge Park, especially Lori Farmer, Jacob Melichar, Tyler Dougherty and the Friends of Noelridge volunteers on this well-deserved award,” Parks and Recreation Director Hashim Taylor said in a statement. “They do an outstanding job beautifying Cedar Rapids and hosting exceptional events that rival those held in larger venues.”

Photos of all contest entrants can be found on the All-American Selections website: www.all-americaselections.org.

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