BATON ROUGE, La. – The public will have a chance to cast their vote in the contest for the American Garden Award at the annual Garden Fest at Burden on June 15 at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens in Baton Rouge.

The American Garden Award is a unique opportunity for the public to view, choose and vote on a specific flower they think has the most appealing garden characteristics, said Burden landscape manager Katie Guitreau.

“The LSU AgCenter’s Burden Botanic Gardens is one of 31 prestigious public gardens participating in the nation’s only flower popularity contest,” Guitreau said.

Each of the four “contestants” is now planted in our garden, she said. The four entries are impatiens SunPatiens Compact Electric Orange, petunia Surfinia Summer Double Pink, verbena Lanai Candy Cane and zinnia Zahara Cherry.

Voting began on June 1 and will continue until August 31.

“The contest voting on Saturday June 15 will be from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. as we celebrate gardening in Louisiana at The Burden Center in Baton Rouge,” Guitreau said.

The Garden Fest will include a tour of the All-America Selections Garden where participants will be able to place votes for their favorite flower.

“You will also be able to tour the Children’s Gardens with fun activities for the little ones,” she said.

Adults and children can enjoy hayrides, tomato variety tasting and food tastings from The Louisiana Culinary Institute and local chefs. A cocktail contest and plant sale also will be featured.

Local gardening organizations, plant experts and local food producers will have displays for the public to enjoy.

“If you can’t make it to the event but still want to participate in the contest, you can visit the All-America Selections Garden at Burden Center seven days a week, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.,” she said. “It is located on the right side of the main road next to the Children’s Garden. Voting cards will be available for you to fill out and drop in the mail or vote online at www.americangardenaward.com.”

Admission to the Garden Fest is $10 per person and $5 for children ages 4-10. Children under 3 enter free. Burden Center is located on Essen Lane off I-10 in Baton Rouge.

More information about the 2013 Garden Fest is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/burdencenter or at 225-763-3990.