My Home Awards

The My Home Awards celebrate Queensland public housing tenants who take pride in their homes and gardens and are good neighbours.

The awards encourage tenants to keep active, connect with their neighbours and community, and share their stories.

Thank you to everyone who entered the 2025 My Home Awards and for the contributions you make to your communities.

For more information:

• contact your nearest Housing Service Centre
• email myhomeawards@hpw.qld.gov.au
• follow us on Facebook @Queensland Housing.

Read about some of our 2025 winners:

Reshmi and Philip celebrate community and creativity

Hope Vale tenants Reshmi and Philip have been celebrated for their community spirit and gardening talents, winning first prize in the Good neighbour category and runner-up in the House garden category in the 2025 My Home Awards.

For them, being a good neighbour means 'having a yarn about plants, sharing tips, and building connections that bring everyone together. It’s about looking after each other.'

Reshmi and Philip’s creativity shines through in their garden which features vibrant flowers, painted floats and unique driftwood displays.

'We love spending time in our garden, sitting under the shady trees with visitors and enjoying the colours and creativity,' they shared.

Congratulations to Reshmi and Philip for creating such an amazing garden!

Sustainability and creativity thrive in Doreen’s Hope Vale garden

Doreen was awarded first-prize in the House garden category of the 2025 My Home Awards, earning recognition for her stunning and productive garden in Hope Vale.

Doreen’s garden features a vibrant mix of plants, including flowers, vegetables and fruit trees, all thriving in the region’s rich soil.

Adding to its charm are unique creative touches, such as a sculpted gecko carved into a tree stump and colourful upcycled elements that bring personality and vibrancy to the space.

The judges were impressed by her dedication to creating a garden that is both visually stunning and functional, with fresh produce that she enjoys eating.

For Doreen, her garden is a source of joy and inspiration.

'My garden gives me a place to relax. I enjoy seeing things grow, and I appreciate the beauty. Eating the fruit I grow is also very satisfying. I like encouraging other members of the Hope Vale community to grow things in their yard as well, as we have very good soil here,' she said.

Doreen’s garden is a testament to her hard work, creativity and commitment to inspiring others in her community.

Rae’s balcony garden blooms to first place

Rae’s balcony garden has blossomed into an award-winning oasis, earning her first prize in the Balcony garden category for the Buranda Housing Service Centre area.

Featuring vibrant desert roses and orchids, Rae’s carefully nurtured plants bring joy not only to her but also to her neighbours, who often admire her colourful display.

'I love coming home to see my flowers—it brings me so much joy,' Rae shared.

'My mornings are spent tending to my plants, using fertiliser and fresh potting mix to keep them thriving.'

Rainy days are a bonus, making her roses 'grow and pop.'

Beyond flowers, Rae’s balcony also boasts a small collection of edible plants, including capsicums, tomatoes, and a small pineapple she’s grown from a cut top.

'It’s only a couple of inches tall now, but it’s lovely to watch it grow. Eating the fruit will be worth the wait!'

Rae has transformed her balcony into a sanctuary, proving that even small spaces can flourish with care and attention.

Robert’s colourful courtyard wins top honours

Robert’s courtyard garden is a vibrant oasis, earning him first prize in the Courtyard garden category of the 2025 My Home Awards for the Chermside Housing Service Centre area.

Robert’s garden is filled with lush tropical plants like philodendrons, staghorn ferns, and bromeliads in a rainbow of colours.

'I love sitting in my garden with a cup of tea, surrounded by the plants and feeding the birds,' Robert shared. 'It’s my happy place, and it’s so rewarding to see everything thrive.'

From a vanilla plant climbing the fence to a wheelbarrow repurposed as a planter for cabbage, carrots and parsley, Robert’s creativity shines through.

His green thumb extends to a 'nursery garden', where he lovingly nurtures struggling plants back to health.

A retired florist, Robert also crafts silk flower posies for church fundraisers, continuing to share his passion for flowers with the community.

'The garden gives me great satisfaction, and visitors always compliment how lovely it looks,' he said.

Congratulations to Robert for creating a space that’s as inspiring as it is beautiful!

Ralph’s garden haven

Ralph has transformed his courtyard into a garden haven with a beautiful display of colourful orchids and water wise plants.

'The garden began with me biking home with free council trees to create a canopy for my orchids to grow,' says Ralph.
Ralph says gardening has many benefits.

'Emotionally, it rewards my head and heart. Physically, my physiotherapist recommends it for improving strength and movement.'

He says it also teaches him patience.

'It’s so important to go slow and be observant. Successful gardening is a long game.'

Ralph recommends everyone gives gardening a go.

'It gives you a sense of pride and something to look forward to every day.'

Ralph was awarded runner up in the Courtyard garden category in 2025 My Home Awards for the Buranda Housing Service Centre area.

Read more about Ralph in Tenant stories.

Carmel’s garden paradise

Regular Gold Coast entrant and multi-award winner Carmel nurtures her garden as well as those across her social housing complex.

'I like to live in a nice place, we all do, and gardens are a big part of that.

'I came here with two pot plants and couldn’t tell you how many I’ve got now!

'The first weekend I moved in, I shifted 13 wheelbarrows of soil into my garden – and I can still lift bags of soil and use a mattock now,' Carmel said.

'I tell everyone here that gardening is my family, and I do it for my health.

'If I sit inside, I’m full of pain, but going outside and losing myself in the garden keeps me healthy and strong.'

Carmel was awarded runner-up in the Communal garden category in the 2025 My Home Awards for the Gold Coast area.

Creativity shines though in Sharyn and Gary’s Sunshine Coast Garden

Sharyn and Gary won first prize in the House garden category in the 2025 My Home Awards for the Sunshine Coast area.

For Sharyn and Gary, gardening is a labour of love – for the plants they propagate and the mosaics Sharyn creates in memory of her late mum Ivy.

Their impressive garden features about 200 varieties of succulents and stunning mosaics, some of which include treasured china owned by Ivy.

'My mum was a really big plant lover, so she and I used to spend a lot of time outside.

'I like being able to use her things, that were special to her and put them into a mosaic that I can put back out into the garden,' Sharyn says.

'The mosaics and the garden help keep Mum with me in life.

'When I’m outside and I see different things, I can hear mum’s voice talking to me, hear her talking about those things. I find comfort in it.'

Heather shares her garden with local birdlife

Manoora resident, Heather, was awarded highly commended in the House garden category in the 2025 My Home Awards for the Cairns area.

'I love my garden. It’s bigger than some people’s houses! I’ve got everything in plants here; you name it, I’ve got it.

'I’ve got 2 bird baths and 3 bird feeders, so the birds come in while I’m having my brekkie. If I haven’t got my door open by 7am, they’re tweeting at the front door.

'And a couple of the birds, if there’s a couple of leaves or bark off the willow tree in the water, they look at me and say hurry up and clean it!

'The My Home Awards ceremony is a great opportunity to connect with other gardeners.

'The recognition is lovely and it’s nice to see photos of their gardens and to swap little bits of information,' she said.