Enter the Very Vegetable Painting Competition and win some fantastic prizes!

Help us celebrate a Taste of Autumn by painting a wacky and wonderful vegetable picture. Your painting can include anything from a whale with a cauliflower spout to a landscape made of cabbages and carrots.

Artist Carl Warner has lent the RHS his balloon image as inspiration (above) – if you look carefully you’ll see that every element is made up of something you can grow in your garden. So don’t delay, get your paper and paints out now – as the closing date is 15th September 2008.

Four lucky artists (aged 16 and under) will win:

• Your winning painting exhibited, and free family day pass (max 5 people) to A Taste of Autumn event at your nearest RHS Garden
• Tea and cakes during your Garden visit
• A one-on-one design hour with an RHS gardener, to help plan a small family vegetable plot
• A children’s hamper complete with sweets  and treats for children of all ages
• Gardening books to inspire food growing families
• RHS Garden Explorers membership for the whole family for a year – providing free access to all RHS Gardens, family fun activities, books, plant passports, seeds and much more…

A Taste Autumn is part of the RHS Grow Your Own Veg campaign, sponsored by NS&I. Each RHS Garden is holding a series of food-focused gardening events for the whole family to enjoy. From pumpkin carving to food foraging in hedgerows; complete with stalls to buy from and autumnal delicacies to taste. The events are all free with standard Garden entry.

Click here for an application form (Adobe Acrobat pdf 31KB)

Post entries and a completed application form to:
RHS/A Taste of Autumn
80 Vincent Square
London
SW1P 2PE

Closing date:
15th September 2008.

Terms and Conditions

1. The Very Vegetable Painting Competition is being run by the Royal Horticultural Society.
2. One entry per child.
3. Only open to children aged 16 and under (with a parent/guardian’s consent)
4. Entries will be judged regionally, resulting in four overall winners – one for each RHS Garden.
5. Entries must reach the RHS (80 Vincent Square, London, SW1P 2PE) by 15 September 2008. Only the four winners will be notified by 30 September 2008.
6. Only original paintings will be accepted into the competition. The painting should be A3 in size. No painting will be returned.
7. The four prizes consist of: free entry into A Taste of Autumn event at the RHS Garden nearest to home address (max five people), tea and cakes during their visit to A Taste of Autumn (voucher format), a one-on-one hour with an RHS gardener to help design and plan a small vegetable garden (time and date TBC), a children’s food hamper, a selection of gardening books & seeds and RHS Garden Explorers membership for 12 months.
8. The RHS will ask all winners to participant in publicity to help promote A Taste of Autumn and the RHS.
9. The judge’s decision is final. Prizes may be subject to change without warning.
10. The RHS is a registered charity, number 222879/SC038262.