Following a program wide call for photos, and two rounds of voting the official UC Master Gardener Photo Contest winners have been determined. We are very appreciative of the amount of support and participation from our UC Master Gardener volunteers and the public for casting their vote. Thanks to over 907 votes we now have our first, second and third place winners in each category. This contest was a huge success and we're proud of each and every volunteer who entered their images.

The winners are!

California Friendly Gardening:

First Place, California Friendly Gardening: "CA Native Plants,” by Corinne Yoshihara, Napa County

1st- “CA Native Plants,” by Corinne Yoshihara, Napa County
2nd- “Drought Friendly Succulents,” by Monique Moench, Solano County
3rd- “The CA Dream,” by Kathy Ikeda, San Joaquin County

Creatures in the Garden:

First Place, Creatures in the Garden: “Lily and the Swallowtail,” by Tom Furnanz, Calaveras County

1st- “Lily and the Swallowtail,” by Tom Furnanz, Calaveras County
2nd- “Female Native Longhorn Bee,” by Kimberly Steinmann, Sacramento County
3rd- “Ingurgitating Praying Mantid,” by Sharon Leos, Solano County

Incredible Edibles:

First Place, IncredibleEdibles: “Ravishing Radishes,” by Anne McDermott, Orange County

1st- “Ravishing Radishes,” by Anne McDermott, Orange County
2nd- “Beta vulgaris ‘Incognito',” by Kathy Ikeda, San Joaquin County
3rd- “Summer's Bounty,” by Rebecca Schoenenberger, Santa Clara County

UC Master Gardeners in Action:

First Place, UC Master Gardeners in Action: “Learning about Critters in a Pond,” by Peggy Chipkin Marin County

1st- “Learning about Critters in a Pond,” by Peggy Chipkin Marin County
2nd- “Fresh peas taste great!” by Summer Brasuel, El Dorado County
3rd- “Happy to Help,” by Amina Horikoshi, Sacramento County

Outstanding Ornamental:

First Place, Outstanding Ornamental: “Exploding Milkweed,” by Cindy Elkins, Fresno County

1st- “Exploding Milkweed,” by Cindy Elkins, Fresno County
2nd- “Looking Up,” by Carol Jesse, Alameda County
3rd- “Echeveria,” by Jeffrey Blake, San Mateo-San Francisco Counties

Prizes

First, second and third place winners will receive a certificate, professional print of their winning shot and will be featured on the 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference website, as well as displayed in a photo gallery at the 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference in Long Beach, Aug. 22-25.

Gardeners Choice: Be sure to vote at the Conference

The first place winner of each category is now entered to win the Gardeners Choice contest, to be voted on at 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference in Long Beach, Aug. 22-25. The winner will be announced on Aug. 25 and awarded a $75.00 gift card and certificate.

Congratulations to all

Thank you and congratulations to all the UC Master Gardner volunteers for participating.  All of the submissions to the official 2017 UC Master Gardener photo contest on our contest website for viewing. Thank you to all those who took the time to participate and share your amazing work and congratulations to our winners. We had so much fun seeing all of your creative shots.