August 15, 2022
Top national landscape and horticulture awards announced for 2022
The ballroom at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier was packed with more than 140 members of the industry from across the country, representing a cross section of the horticultural trades.
Winners of the 19th annual National Awards of Landscape Excellence (NALE) were announced on August 10, 2022 in the ballroom at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, Ont.

Each year, the NALE celebrates outstanding work across the country, honouring top projects in landscape construction, design, and maintenance. In order to qualify for the NALE, applicants first enter their projects in their respective provincial association awards of excellence competitions. Then the provincial associations submit up to three entries per category to the national competition.

The judges, a volunteer panel of industry experts, did not have an easy job evaluating several dozens of projects ranging from exceptional to extraordinary. The national judges evaluated each entry based on standardized criteria first developed by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) in 2004 to narrow the submissions down to this year’s best in each category.

Following two summers as a virtual event, the CNLA was excited and eager for the national awards to return to being an in-person event. The ballroom was packed with more than 140 members of the industry from across the country, representing a cross section of the horticultural trades.

The 2022 winners are as follows:

 

Seferian Design Group

Caterpillar National Award of Landscape Excellence for Commercial Construction

For: Paradigm Condominiums
Burlington, Ont.

DaRocha Webster Landscapes

Caterpillar National Award of Landscape Excellence for Residential Landscape Construction

For: “Perched on the Rocky Cape”
Montreal, Que.

Clintar Landscape Management Services

HortProtect National Award of Excellence for Landscape Design

For: Urban Sanctuary
Halifax, N.S.

Strathmore Landscape Contractors

HortProtect National Award of Landscape Excellence for Commercial Landscape Maintenance

For: Centropolis
Ottawa, Que.
 

The Cultivated Garden

HortProtect National Award of Landscape Excellence for Residential Maintenance

For: Contemporary Beauty
Toronto, Ont.

Brookdale Treeland Nurseries Ltd.

CNLA Grower of the Year Award

Schomberg, Ont.

Sheridan Nurseries

CNLA Garden Centre of the Year Award

Etobicoke, Ont.
 

Congratulations to all winners this year! The recognition is well deserved for all of this outstanding work that significantly raises the level of professionalism in the landscape industry.

The ceremony also included the CNLA awards for Grower and Garden Centre of the Year, as well as the Green for Life Industry Awards, which recognize individuals, companies and communities which benefit the public through the development and maintenance of green spaces.

The 2022 Green for Life award winners are:

Humboldt Urban Garden Sanctuary (HUGS) — Green for Life Community Award
HUGS is a vast new community green space that celebrated its grand opening this summer at the Humboldt District Hospital grounds, built by numerous agencies, companies and individuals including Scotts Canada, Landscape Saskatchewan, Landscape Alberta, Green Cities Foundation Canada and Communities in Bloom.

Landscape Ontario COVID-19 Taskforce Garden Makeover Project: Participation House — Green for Life Community Award
To recognize the dedication of healthcare professionals and frontline workers in the fight against coronavirus, the Landscape Ontario (LO) COVID-19 Task Force created a Garden Makeover Appreciation contest. A standout among the 10 contest winners is Participation House in Markham, Ont., a leader in enhancing the quality of life of individuals with disabilities, whose outdoor space received more than $50,000 in donations from LO’s Toronto Chapter for landscaping improvements.

General Motors Canada — Green for Life Industry Award for a Corporation
General Motors Canada has been a significant feature of the CNLA’s Member Services program, offering discounts on GM trucks to members across the country for more than 20 years.

Alex Raab — Green for Life Distinction Award Industry Award for an Individual
Alex Raab, who opened his first White Rose store in 1957, was a pioneer of the ornamental horticulture industry in many ways, including mail-order delivery, large-scale composting, and inventing and trademarking several products like the Merrygro mini greenhouse.

Raymond Carrière — Green for Life Distinction Award Industry Award for an Individual
Raymond Carrière is the Founding President of Communities in Bloom. For more than 25 years, Raymond’s vision inspired thousands of volunteers and over 900 communities to register in the provincial, national and international programs.

Tony DiGiovanni — Green for Life Distinction Award Industry Award for an Individual
For more than 30 years as Executive Director of Landscape Ontario, Tony DiGiovanni has made a mark on the landscape industry in numerous ways, including improving communication between members, his tireless promotion of the industry, and the exponential growth of LO membership.

Thank you to our sponsors who made these awards possible each year. We look forward to next year’s national awards, the 20th edition, to be presented in August, 2023.
The 2022 National Awards of Landscape Excellence are sponsored by:
sponsor logos

About CNLA
Created in 1922, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association is celebrating its 100th year and is a not-for-profit federation of nine provincial associations representing over 4,200 members. Composed of thousands of locally owned companies that grow, sell, design, install, and maintain plants and other landscape features, our members represent the country’s $14.48 billion green industry. CNLA works to develop programs, undertake initiatives, and form alliances in order to achieve sustainable prosperity for members and stakeholders. In 2018 the CNLA created a charitable organization, Green Cities Foundation, whose mission is to connect plants and people for healthier urban environments by rejuvenating and creating more community green spaces across Canada. In 2019, the CNLA acquired Communities in Blooms, a national and international community garden competition that is holding its annual symposium this year in Victoria, BC, on October 20-23.

To learn more, please visit www.cnla-acpp.ca.

About NALE
The National Awards of Landscape Excellence recognize Canadian companies that have actively participated in significantly raising the level of professionalism in the landscape industry. Each province nominates members from the provincial awards of excellence competitions that are then entered into the national awards.
Discover more at www.NALE.ca.

About Green For Life Awards
The Green for Life Awards recognize significant contributions made to the ornamental horticulture sector by an individual, corporation, or community. Submissions include projects or geographical segments within a community, region or municipality that have specific benefit to the public through the development and/or maintenance of green spaces.