What are the Landscape of Distinction Awards?
Your best work, independently assessed against a professional standard, with a competition only at the very top.
The Landscapes of Distinction Awards give members of Registered Master Landscapers the chance to have their best work independently assessed against a professional standard. They recognise excellence in landscape design, construction and maintenance, on projects of all sizes. In Head Judge Penny Cliffin’s words, they are “a respected mark of excellence for both the industry and the public.”
The Awards are not only about finding the best project in New Zealand. They also recognise the professional standard being achieved across the industry.
What makes them different is how they work: there are two stages. The first is assessment. The second is a competition, but only at the very top. Once you see the difference, it is easier to see why entering can be worthwhile even if you never expect to win the top award.
Stage One: independent assessment
Every entered project is assessed by independent judges against a professional standard. Your project is not competing against the other entries. Projects that meet the standard are awarded a medal on their own merit.
So recognition is not limited to one winner per category. Your project does not have to beat anyone else’s to earn a medal. Medals are awarded at bronze, silver and gold. In each category, the highest-scoring Gold medal winner is named the Premier Award winner.
Stage Two: the competition
The competition happens at the very top. The Premier Award winners from each category compete against one another for the Supreme Award.
This is the only point at which projects compete against one another.
| Stage One | Stage Two | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Independent assessment | The competition |
| Measured against | A professional standard | Other Premier Award winners |
| Who takes part | Every entered project | Premier Award winners |
| Result | Medals on merit, and a Premier Award in each category | The Supreme Award |
Why independent assessment matters
Anyone can describe their own work as excellent. An independent assessment is different. It gives you something meaningful to show clients: this project was judged against an industry standard and recognised for the quality achieved.
For the team behind the project, a medal is also a chance to step back and recognise what you built together.
More than a medal
Preparing an entry tends to leave you with more than a result. Entrants have told us it pushed them to arrange good photography and document the project properly, which gave them material to keep using long after the Awards. The mythbusting article in this edition looks at this in more detail.
Key dates
Entries open: Tuesday 1 December 2026
Entries close: Wednesday 31 March 2027 (judging runs until 31 May 2027)
Awards dinner: Saturday 4 September 2027, Queenstown