Nominate your favorite garden

Seen a great garden lately? Don't keep it to yourself. Share its beauty — and help the gardener get the glory he or she deserves — by nominating it in the Star Tribune's Beautiful Gardens contest.

This annual contest has been one of our most popular and enduring features for more than 20 years, going back to 1996 when we first invited readers to send in photos of their favorite gardens. Readers responded — and a tradition was born.

Every year, early in the growing season, we seek the best residential gardens in Minnesota and western Wisconsin by asking readers to share their favorites. A panel reviews the nominees and chooses several standouts. The winning gardens are featured in the Homes section and online at startribune.com.

Over the years, we've showcased gardens large and small, from small urban plots to sprawling country gardens — more than 130 in all.

Any type of garden can be a winner, vegetable, ornamental or both. It can be a quiet tranquil Asian garden or an exuberant cottage garden. It could be your neighbor's garden, your mom's garden or the one in your own backyard.

To nominate a garden, just send a brief description of the garden, its location and who tends it, along with a few snapshots, to: beautifulgardens@startribune.com or Star Tribune — Beautiful Gardens, 650 3rd Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488.

We'll accept nominations through July 10.