The Garden Hotline invites you to participate!
Read and enjoy the poetry submissions!
With their endless variety of colors, textures, blossoms, nourishing vegetables and fruits, gardens and all those who tend them and appreciate them, remind us of the beautiful variety among our communities.
Like gardens, the language of poetry inspires us with lush or spare beauty and with bouquets of words that speak to celebrating gardens, gardeners and the beauty and solace of nature.
We are pleased to invite everyone from ages six to one hundred and six to create a poem in honor of the spectacular variety of gardens, of beloved gardeners, and of the gifts we all receive when we connect to green and growing gardens and to nature itself.
How to Submit Your Poem
• All entries must have your full name and contact information, preferably an email address and phone number
• For poets under age 18, please include your age and grade
• Poems in any language with English translations are warmly welcome
• We also welcome different ways of submitting your poem:
Typed into the body of an email
A word doc or pdf attached to an email
An audio file attached to an email that is no larger than 4MB, or if too large to attach, send a link to where the contest judge can hear it.
Our Judge
The contest is judged by a published poet who is a longtime organic gardener, a passionate supporter of diverse communities, and an advocate for how community gardens widen our understanding of how to live equitably and peacefully.
Judging Criteria
- Relevance to theme
- Creativity and originality
- Appeal across ages – how the poem speaks to all ages
Submission Deadline: April 30, 2025 – Winners Announced: By May 5, 2025
Age Categories
- Ages 6-8 (Primary)
- Ages 9-12 (Elementary)
- Ages 13-17 (Youth)
- Ages 18 + (Adult)
Submission Guidelines
• 40 lines max (title not included)
• Original, unpublished poems only
• No name on poem for adults (18+); include name in contact info
• For minors: include name, age, and grade
• Poems can be in any language (include English translation)
Submit as:
• Text in email body
• Word/PDF attachment
• Audio file (max 4MB) or audio link
Submit a Poem! engage@talithaconsults.com
PRIZES – Tango Gift Cards
Two winners in each category (8 winners)
- First Prize – $150 gift card
- Second Prize – $50 gift card
You Are Creative!
If you need a jumpstart see our suggestions below to build your poem from.
• Consider a fruit or vegetable, or anything that grows in nature and wonder what story it might tell?-or-Write from the point of view of the fruit or vegetable, or tree, or flower, etc. What does it want you to know?
• Write an ode to a certain flower, tree, fruit, vegetable or to your favorite garden or gardener. You are bestowing lavish praise and each line gives sensory descriptions of color, taste, shape, texture, and your feelings about your subject.
• Plunge your hands into the earth in your poem and write your details and appreciations or struggles connected to planting, digging, weeding, harvesting.
• Pay tribute to a certain ancestor or relative or friend, whomever may have inspired you to become a gardener.
• Write a prayer or a praise song to one specific garden or gardener.
• Create a poem with details of a shared garden meal or one you just savored yourself or one you dream of. Who is at the table, where does the meal take place?
• Create a praise poem to the earth itself-or-a prayer like poem
of protecting the earth.
Read and enjoy the poetry submissions!
