From July 1 through July 10, local residents will be able to submit nominations for the town's summer garden contest, held in conjunction with the town's participation in the Communities in Bloom program.

Communities in Bloom coordinator Bernice Booth said residents can nominate their own gardens, neighbours, friends or family for the contest. Nominations can be submitted during the nomination period by calling town hall at 905-563-8205, by visiting town hall at 4800 South Service Rd. in Beamsville or by sending an e-mail to bbooth@lincoln.ca. Booth said there is even an option on the town's voicemail to nominate a resident's garden outside of regular business hours. All you need to do is provide the nominee's address and telephone number.

The gardens will then be judged during a two-week span following the nomination period.

"The judges enjoy it," said Booth of the experience. "They are all professional Master Gardeners."

This is the second of three contests. The first round of judging happened in May for the spring contest. The residential winner was Iain Hay, who lives at 4191 Glenwood Cr. in Beamsville. Winning the industrial category was Vineland-based Stoney Ridge Estate Winery, located at 3201 King St. The commercial recipient was Blue Sky Nurseries, 4659 King St., in Beamsville.

The final contest takes place in the fall, for the first 10 days of September.

Booth said she is hoping there will be some more entries this summer, especially with gardens in full bloom.

"We hope it will take off more," she said, adding she expects the judges to see many colourful gardens this time around.