In celebration of completing fifty TV makeovers on her show, Weekend Gardening, landscape designer Mo Gilmer is holding the first Before and After Backyard Makeover Contest on her website www.moplants.com. The contest is open to anyone who creates a great garden this summer. The deadline for entries is August, 25, 2006.
"We see a lot of makeovers on TV using professional designers and crews, but the gardens I want to see are what American gardeners are doing for themselves. They deserve more recognition. I'd like MoPlants.com to become a familiar place where they can show the world what they've done."

Participants are asked to submit at least two digital photos of the garden- the "before" picture of the yard or a section of the yard and an "after" shot in its full summer glory. Entries will be judged by the greatest improvement and creative use of plants. "Growing a fabulous flower garden doesn't cost a lot of money, it just takes some imagination, planning and nurture," says Mo, author of Budget Garden Makeovers and fourteen other books.

Prizes for the lucky winner include two items from the MoPlants.com Store. First is a set of high quality aged terra cotta rustic round bowl pots by Campo de Fiori, an $86.50 value. It's accompanied by a copy of easy-to-use Mo's Garden Maker Software which utilizes a digital picture of your home to create realistic garden designs, $49.95.

The Before and After Backyard Makeover Contest is designed to launch the first featured home garden digital photographs at MoPlants.com. The winner and his or her garden will be introduced by Mo personally on the MoZone blog. Then the garden photos will be posted in a permanent Gallery on the MoPlants.com web site. The Gallery will grow over time with future contest winners to let everyone share their ideas and enthusiasm.

The contest is just one of the many new features of Mo Gilmer's freshly redesigned web site at MoPlants.com It includes her nationally syndicated Yardsmart columns, Links and Resources, the new Backyard Wedding Central - a special section on backyard wedding makeovers, the MoZone Blog and an extensive archive of useful articles.