Helping to beautify kenmore

Kenmore in Bloom will take place June 9 - July 13, 2024. ​Kenmore in Bloom aims to boost gardening and keep Kenmore looking beautiful! We appreciate and celebrate the hard work that goes into creating attractive streets and good curb appeal. Well-kept front yards and storefronts have a positive impact on the whole community. As a way of saying thanks, each "Bloomed" garden gets a lawn sign to show off their achievement and inspire others.  

2024 Kenmore in Bloom Sponsors

We are so truly thankful to have the generous and big-hearted support of the following 2024 Kenmore in Bloom Sponsors.  We couldn't do this without them and are so grateful to each of them.  ​

What is Kenmore in Bloom?

Kenmore in Bloom is a way to encourage everyone in Kenmore, residences, businesses, churches, and organizations, to make the front of their property look good with gardens, plants, flowers, and trees.  This benefits our community in several ways: 
  • We reap the health benefits of gardening -this is a whole person activity, good for the body, mind, and spirit.  
  • We can build friendships and connect to our neighbors and others interested in adding plants to their surroundings by sharing plants and gardening tips, etc.
  • By beautifying our own space, we encourage others around us to do the same.  Since we started Kenmore in Bloom, there has been a wave of beautification that grows each year.  A neighbor puts effort into their front garden and that inspires their next door neighbor to do the same, and that inspires the neighbor across the street, and before you know it, the whole block is looking lush and lovely!
  • Having an attractive and well-kept neighborhood raises property values.
  • It's beneficial to pollinators of all kinds, giving them habitat and food - this in turn benefits the earth in many ways.

How is it organized?

We divide the Village of Kenmore into 13 zones for Kenmore in Bloom; each of these 13 zones are assigned Bloom Scouts to decide who will receive a Bloom Award.  Bloom Scouts are people who sign up to receive training, then go out to the zone they have been assigned and carefully, after looking at the zone several times, decide what places they will choose to receive a Bloom Award.  Anyone can sign up to be a Bloom Scout.  A Bloom Scout cannot Bloom the zone where they live and they cannot have the same zone to Bloom two years in a row. Bloom Scout training instructs our Scouts on what we look for in gardens that are eligible to receive an Award.  There are a limited number of Bloom Awards to give each year, for 2024 we have 40 Awards for each zone.  This means that there will always be some deserving gardens that don't get picked to receive a Bloom Award.  But because our Bloom Scouts change annually in each zone, every place has a new chance to be Bloomed.

How does my place get bloomed?

Once our Bloom Scouts receive their training, they then receive a packet of materials they will use for making their Awards.  They are looking for places that have these characteristics:​
  • Well maintained, free of weeds, have well defined garden beds.
  • Use flowering plants, the layout of the plants is well done and pleasing to the eye.
  • Gardens that are in pots as well as those in the ground are considered.

Remember that the Bloom Awards are given for the FRONT GARDEN only.  Gardens that have the following characteristics will not receive a Bloom Award.  
  • Are not weeded or are messy and uncared for looking.  
  • Use too many garden ornaments, flags, statues, tchotchke, that overwhelms and competes with the plants.  
  • Uses artificial flowers anywhere other than those difficult to see -like a second story window box.  
Check out the photos below of gardens that have received Bloom Awards in the past.  

Become A Bloom Scout

Our 2024 Bloom Scouts have signed up to help, have received their training, and will be out choosing the places they will Bloom until mid July.  
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Bloom Scouts Mary & Ruthie
“It’s an honor and delight to have had my garden Bloomed. Thank you for recognizing the power of beautiful gardens.  They heal and soothe those who pass by. Gardeners will almost always tell you that gardening is a labor of love, and they make their caretakers stay fit and mentally healthy!  Bless you for your commitment to Kenmore.”  -Jeanne Bowman